title: Outcome of the glucagon test depends upon the prevailing blood glucose concentration in type I (insulin-dependent) diabetic patients.
abstract: The outcome of 97 paired glucagon and meal tests was related to the prevailing fasting blood glucose concentrations on the two test days. At blood glucose concentration less than 7 mmol/l both the C-peptide responses and the maximal (6 min) C-peptide concentrations during the glucagon tests were significantly lower than the corresponding values found during the meal tests. During the glucagon tests, a direct relationship was found between the responsiveness of the pancreatic beta-cells and fasting blood glucose values when these were between 3 and 7 mmol/l. No significant difference was found between the outcome of the two tests when the fasting blood glucose concentration was greater than 7 mmol/l. The results indicate that the outcome of the glucagon test in Type I patients depends upon the prevailing fasting blood glucose concentration and that the predictive value of the glucagon test as to how the beta-cells will respond to a meal during everyday life is low when fasting blood glucose is less than 7 mmol/l.
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001786:Blood Glucose / Q000032:analysis*; D002096:C-Peptide / Q000097:blood; D003922:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 1 / Q000097:blood*; D005215:Fasting; D005260:Female; D005502:Food; D005934:Glucagon; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male
chemical_list: D001786:Blood Glucose; D002096:C-Peptide; D005934:Glucagon