Metabolic and neurochemical profiles in insulin-treated diabetic rats

Plasma glucose concentration was measured at 3-h intervals in streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats placed on various insulin replacement regimens using three different kinds of insulin. High insulin dosages produced at least periodic hypoglycemia, even though there were no overt signs of insulin overdose. Low- and single-dose regimens produced periods of hyperglycemia. Both high and low doses of protamine zinc insulin normalized diabetes-induced reductions in 5-hydroxyindole-3-acetic acid [5-HIAA; the principal metabolite of 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT)] and 5-HT turnover (5-HIAA/5-HT), despite the failure of the low-dose regimen to normalize plasma glucose. Diabetic rats evidenced continued hyperphagia and hyperdipsia during insulin treatment, and insulin treatment also induced hyperphagia and excessive weight gain in nondiabetic rats. Insulin treatment only partially normalized diabetes-induced adrenal hypertrophy. Adrenal hypertrophy is an indication of a continued stresslike physiological state in diabetes even during insulin therapy. This state may be involved in the enhanced risk in diabetic humans for development of anxiety disorders and clinical depression.