[Catecholamines and changes in blood pressure during stress tests in type 1 diabetics]

The influence of metabolic control on catecholamine secretion and blood pressure during upright posture, mental stress and physical exercise was studied in 34 normotensive normoalbuminuric type 1 (insulin-dependent) diabetic patients without autonomic neuropathy. A poor metabolic control did not induce different changes in blood pressure and plasma catecholamines as compared to a good metabolic control, except for an exaggerated rise in plasma adrenaline in patients with asymptomatic hypoglycemia. The lack of correlation between plasma catecholamines and blood pressure suggest that some other factors are also involved in the hemodynamic reaction to mental stress and physical exercise in diabetic patients. (Fig. 2, Tab. 3, Ref. 25.).