Objectives for the year 2000.

The Healthy People 2000 initiative challenges the United States to improve the health profile of Americans through a prevention agenda targeting improvements in health status and health service delivery and reduction of risk for disease and disability. Clinical laboratories play an important role in achieving these national health goals and objectives. Many specific objectives directly target improved laboratory services, whereas others are fundamentally dependent on access to better laboratory services.

The effects of gonadectomy on glucose tolerance of genetically obese (fa/fa) rats: influence of sex and genetic background.

In both humans and rodents the occurrence and severity of obesity-associated non-insulin dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM) may be influenced by both gonadal hormones and genetic background. Early gonadectomy (at 3-5 days of age) of female and male Wistar diabetic fatty (WDF) rats and of male Zucker rats allowed us to examine these effects in genetically obese rats carrying the fatty (fa) gene. Impairment of glucose tolerance and insulin sensitivity by obesity, and amelioration or exacerbation (in the case of female rats) of this impairment by gonadectomy were assessed by intragastric glucose tolerance tests when the rats reached adulthood.