[Sensitivity to insulin studied by the clamp method in patients with type-1 diabetes mellitus]

The rate of insulin dependent utilization of glucose by tissues under the conditions of normoglycemia was assessed in 76 patients with insulin dependent diabetes mellitus (their age and period of disease varied) without clinical signs of resistance to insulin. The investigation was performed with the help of the clamp method. A decrease in the sensitivity to insulin was noted even in normal values of carbohydrate and fat metabolism. A decrease in the insulin dependent rate of glucose utilization by tissues depended neither on sex and age of the patients, nor on a period of disease, body mass, daily requirement in insulin, the levels of cholesterol, triglycerides and ketone bodies. A transient increase in the rate of glucose utilization during the 1st year of disease was typical of patients with partial remission. It has been assumed that a decrease in the sensitivity to insulin in insulin dependent diabetes mellitus cannot be the secondary metabolic phenomenon only.