title: Plasma beta-endorphin levels and glucose tolerance in patients with chronic renal failure.
abstract: In order to examine the role of endogenous opioid peptides on glucose metabolism in uraemic patients, plasma concentrations of beta-endorphin, glucose, insulin and C-peptide were determined before and during an oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) in nine non-dialysed patients with chronic renal failure (CRF). The results are compared with those obtained in a group of age-matched normal subjects. In CRF patients, plasma beta-endorphin fasting values (16.0 +/- 1.9 pmol/l) were significantly higher than those of the controls (6.6 +/- 0.6 pmol/l) and significantly correlated with the degree of renal function impairment. After glucose load, plasma beta-endorphin in CRF patients tended to decline, whereas in normal subjects increased. The fasting and the mean OGTT plasma beta-endorphin values negatively correlated with insulin initial response to glucose, insulin and C-peptide mean OGTT values, but not with glucose OGTT mean values. Data indicate that chronic uraemia induces a significant increase in circulating plasma beta-endorphin levels, with a loss of opioid system responsiveness to glucose. The possibility that this hyper-endorphinism may have a biological importance at least as a contributory factor of impaired glucose tolerance in uraemia may be suggested.
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, University of Genoa, Italy.
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Barreca
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Robaudo
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Cataldi
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Garibaldi
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Cianciosi
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Russo
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Rolandi
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Franceschini
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001786:Blood Glucose / Q000032:analysis; D002096:C-Peptide / Q000097:blood; D005215:Fasting; D005260:Female; D005951:Glucose Tolerance Test; D006801:Humans; D007328:Insulin / Q000097:blood; D007676:Kidney Failure, Chronic / Q000097:blood*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D001615:beta-Endorphin / Q000097:blood*
chemical_list: D001786:Blood Glucose; D002096:C-Peptide; D007328:Insulin; D001615:beta-Endorphin