Effect of insulin and alloxan diabetes on carrageenin inflammation in rats

Some hypersensitivity reactions and allergic responses are known to be increased by insulin treatment and decreased in diabetes. In contrast, the present experiments showed that paw swelling induced by carrageenin in rats was inhibited by insulin. The anti-inflammatory activity, to some extent, paralleled the dose applied and did not appear to be due to hypoglycaemia. Alloxan diabetes in turn increased the vascular response to carrageenin and abolished the anti-inflammatory effect of insulin. The experiments call attention to the possible significance of insulin in the regulation of the acute non-immune inflammatory process.