title: Plasma met-enkephalin levels in diabetic patients: influence of autonomic neuropathy.
abstract: The presence of opioid peptides within pancreatic islets in several animal species and in humans suggests that these peptides could play a role in pancreatic endocrine secretion, influencing glucose metabolism. We measured plasma met-enkephalin (met-Enk) levels in eight neuropathic (four with insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus [IDDM] and four with non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus [NIDDM]) and eight nonneuropathic (four IDDM and four NIDDM) diabetic patients to study met-Enk secretion in diabetic patients with asymptomatic autonomic neuropathy. Plasma met-Enk levels were significantly lower in neuropathic compared with nonneuropathic patients both in the IDDM group (28.7 +/- 4.8 v 61.6 +/- 4.1 pg/mL, P < .0025) and in the NIDDM group (26.5 +/- 3.6 v 44.3 +/- 4.6 pg/mL, P < .0125). This study suggests that the presence of neuropathy in diabetic patients, even if asymptomatic, is associated with a significant decrease of plasma met-Enk levels, thus contributing to a worsening of metabolic control under stress conditions.
authors.affiliation: Istituto di Clinica Medica II, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Fallucca
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Tonnarini
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Di Biase
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: D'Allessandro
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Negri
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D003922:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 1 / Q000097:blood*; D003924:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 / Q000097:blood*; D003929:Diabetic Neuropathies / Q000097:blood*; D004744:Enkephalin, Methionine / Q000097:blood*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged
chemical_list: D004744:Enkephalin, Methionine