Comparison of the counterregulatory hormone response to semisynthetic human insulin and purified porcine insulin in normal subjects and patients with type I diabetes mellitus.

The counterregulatory hormone responses to semisynthetic human insulin and purified porcine insulin were compared in 20 healthy volunteers (ten men and ten women) and 16 patients (8 men and 8 women) with type I diabetes mellitus (IDDM). In both groups blood glucose fell to similar levels following insulin administration; no difference in counterregulatory hormone response or hypoglycemic awareness was noted when comparing human to porcine insulin. However, when men were compared to women, significant differences were noted in basal glucagon, cortisol, and growth hormone levels, as well as in norepinephrine, prolactin, and cortisol responses to hypoglycemia. These differences could not be attributed to insulin species, different doses of insulin, or degree of hypoglycemia. These findings suggest that hormonal response to and awareness of hypoglycemia are similar in healthy subjects and patients with IDDM following administration of human and porcine insulin and that hormonal responses in men and women should be studied separately to avoid confusion in interpreting results arising from differences in sex.