Metabolic "responders" and "non-responders" to muscular exercise in diabetes

The metabolic effects of muscular exercise (bicycle ergometer, 75 watts, 15 min) were studied in 16 healthy controls and 49 diabetics distributed into three groups. The first two groups included insulin-dependent diabetics three hours after administration of insulin (group A, 24 cases) or 12--18 hours after the last insulin dose (group B, 18 cases). Group C included 7 non insulin-dependent diabetics. According to the glycemia response, the patients were listed as: high responders (greater than 20% below the initial values), low responders (10-20% fall) and non-responders (increase or less than 10% decrease). The data obtained show that, in most cases, in the presence of insulin, exercise has a hypoglycemic effect and, in its absence, a hyperglycemic one. To a lesser extent, the fall in glycemia may be attributed to an apparently insulin-independent mechanism. Exercise can only be indicated (in high-responders) or contraindicated (in non-responders) after a routine tolerance test.