A comparative study of metabolic and hormonal responses to somatostatin and propranolol in man

The aim of this study was to compare the metabolic and hormonal effects of somatostatin to those of propranolol, a beta-adrenergic blocking agent known to reduce basal insulin secretion. For this purpose, 6 normal subjects received somatostatin (4 microgram/min) per 60 min and 6 subjects were infused with propranolol (0.08 mg/min). Somatostatin resulted in a significant decrease of basal insulin (p less than 0.05) and glucagon (p less than 0.01) and raised plasma FFA levels from a mean basal value of 417 +/- 24 muEq/1 (x +/- SEM) to 600 +/- 46 muEq/1 at 60 min (p less than 0.01). Propranolol significantly decreased basal insulin (p less than 0.05) and glucagon (p less than 0.05); FFA levels rose slightly at the end of propranolol administration (p less than 0.05). The levels of FFA which were significantly higher (p less than 0.025) during somatostatin as compared to those observed during propranolol, seem to suggest a role for this tetradecapeptide in lipid metabolism independent of its inhibiting action on islet hormone release.