ABSTRACT
Insulin sensitivity was measured by insulin tolerance test using KITT as an index of insulin mediated glucose metabolism in 9 non-obese healthy offspring of conjugal diabetic parents (OCDP) and 9 non-obese NIDDM patients. The mean KITT value in the offspring of conjugal diabetic parents was 3.85 +/- 1.64 min-1 x 100 which was lower (P < 0.05) than the value of 5.49 +/- 1.9 min-1 x 100 in the control subjects. While, the mean KITT value in NIDDM patients was 1.85 +/- 0.9 min-1 x 100 which was significantly lower (P < 0.001) than that in the control subjects. Estimation of plasma immunoreactive insulin (IRI) and C-peptide in these subjects and in subjects with impaired glucose tolerance (IGT) showed significantly higher levels of insulin than that in the control subjects but there was no corresponding increase in the C-peptide levels. The mean area under the insulin curve (IRI) was 242 +/- 69 microU/ml in the control subjects versus 527 +/- 206 microU/ml in IGT (P < 0.001), 648 +/- 215 microU/ml in NIDDM (P < 0.001) and 466 +/- 130 microU/ml in OCDP (P < 0.001). These results suggest that 1) healthy offspring of two type II diabetic parents have decreased insulin sensitivity and insulin resistance is present in all the NIDDM patients, 2) peripheral hyperinsulinism is a common feature in healthy offspring of conjugal diabetic parents, and in subjects with IGT and mild NIDDM and this hyperinsulinism is not due to increased B-Cell secretion but due to some metabolic alterations of insulin occurring at the extra pancreatic levels.