Reduced hepatic insulin extraction in obesity: relationship with plasma insulin levels.

To elucidate if there are alterations in insulin metabolic clearance in obesity under basal conditions, plasma insulin and C-peptide were measured in 22 obese patients and 8 normal subjects, and the plasma C-peptide to insulin molar ratio was used as an index of hepatic insulin extraction. In obese patients, the C-peptide to insulin molar ratio correlated indirectly with basal plasma insulin levels (r = 0.71; P less than 0.

Use of piretanide, a new loop diuretic, in cirrhosis with ascites: relationship between the diuretic response and the plasma aldosterone level.

Twenty patients with cirrhosis and ascites but no renal failure were given piretanide, a new loop diuretic, in order to investigate its efficacy and to relate the diuretic response with the pretreatment plasma aldosterone concentration. Eleven patients responded to piretanide 12 mg/day (equivalent in potency to 80 mg furosemide); there was no response in nine patients. Both groups were similar with regard to liver function, plasma urea, serum creatinine, plasma electrolytes, urine volume, and urine potassium concentration.