Minidiab test to assess the function of pancreatic beta-cells in the children of diabetics

Abstract

The levels of glucose, insulin, and C-peptide in the blood scrum were measured in 38 subjects with normal and impaired glucose tolerance whose parents suffered from insulin-dependent and noninsulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM and NID- DM, respectively) and in 12 normal subjects without hereditary aggravation for diabetes mellitus in order to specify the pecualiaritics of development of diabetes mellitus of various types. Reliably increased levels of glucose, insulin, and C-peptide on an empty stomach and absence of adequate secretion of insulin and C-peptide in response to stimulation with 5 mg of minidiab, expressed by a later and less manifest release of insulin and C-peptide, were observed in the test group, in contrast to healthy controls. The detected changes augment with the progress of carbohydrate metabolism disorders, being more marked in the subjects whose parents suffered from IDDM. The findings permit a conclusion that function of the insular system is changed during early disorders of carbohydrate metabolism in subjects whose parents suffered from both forms of diabetes mellitus. Minidiab test is recommended to specify the function of the pancreatic insular system.