[Role of insulin and its antagonists in the pathogenesis of diabetes mellitus and its complications].

The content of insulin antagonists (growth hormone, cortisol, catecholamine, DOPA, free fatty acids) was studied in 40 women suffering from diabetes mellitus, including 12 insulin-sensitive and 15 insulin-resistant, and 13 women with freshly diagnosed untreated diabetes. The greatest content of all the insulin antagonists was revealed in the insulin-sensitive patients during the decompensation period. It is assumed that in this period, diabetogenic actions of insulin antagonists create the most favourable conditions for the formation of insulin antagonists create the most favourable conditions for the formation of insulin resistance; this resistance is then maintained by the increased antibody titre due to the elevation of therapeutic insulin doses and lengthy persistence of the high growth hormone level in the insulin-resistant patients.

[Effect of alpha and beta receptor blockaders on the degree of glycemia, growth hormone content of blood and catecholamine excretion in insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus].

Glycemia, growth hormone level and urinary catecholamine excretion were studied in 182 patients suffering from insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus during insulin therapy alone, and in 33 during treatment with insulin plus alpha- and beta-adrenoblockers. Under the effect of alpha-adrenoblockers glycemia proved to fall in the insulin-dependent patients, without increasing the insulin dose. The STH level diminished in these patients under the effect of alpha-adrenoblockers, even when glycemia persisted at the same level.

[Dynamics of levels of growth hormone and free fatty acids in the blood, and catecholamines in the urine of insulin-resistant and insulin-sensitive diabetes mellitus patients during insulin hypoglycemia].

The changes in the content of STH and FFA in the blood and of catecholamines in the urine under the effect of insulin hypoglycemia were studied in 28 insulin-sensitive and 40 insulin-resistant patients suffering from diabetes mellitus. Patients with diabetes mellitus who needed 100 or more insulin units per 24 hours for compensation of the affection were referred to the insulin-resistant ones. In these cases a less pronounced elevation of the blood STH level and of urinary catecholamines was noted in response to insulin hypoglycemia.