[Changes in carbohydrate metabolism in liver cirrhosis during glucose infusion tests]

In 31 patients with normal liver findings, fatty degeneration of the liver and liver cirrhosis the behaviour of parameters of the carbohydrate metabolism (blood glucose, IRI, lactate, glycogen of liver and muscle) was tested under a two-hour glucose infusion. Accumulation of pathological carbohydrate tolerance and hyperinsulinaemia and the reduced content of liver glycogen in liver cirrhoses are traced back to a decreased functional reserve of the diseased liver. On the other hand, the reduction of lactate was normal as a criterion of the gluconeogenesis. Lactacidoses did not appear despite advanced liver cirrhoses. The increase of the reduced reserves of glycogen in liver and muscle after the offer of glucose refers to preserved regulation mechanisms in supply of substrates despite peripheral insulin resistance.