Changes in glucose, insulin, and growth hormone levels associated with bedrest

Changes in plasma glucose, insulin, and growth hormone (HGH) resulting from exposure to 56 d of bedrest were determined in five healthy young male subjects. Blood samples were collected by repeated venous puncture at 4-h intervals for 48-h periods before bedrest, at 10, 20, 30, 42 and 54 d after confinement to bed and at 10 and 20 d after bedrest. Changes in the daily levels of these factors for each subject were expressed as the mean of the six samples per 24-h period. The level of HGH dropped after 10 d of bedrest, then showed a 1.5-fold increase at 20 d (p less than 0.05) and subsequently decreased gradually reaching levels of 2.5 mg/ml/24 h, well below pre-bedrest controls of 4.2 mg/ml/24 h, by the 54th d. In spite of a marked increase in the daily plasma insulin levels during the first 30 d of bedrest, glucose levels remained unchanged. Beyond 30 d of bedrest, insulin began decreasing toward pre-bedrest levels and glucose followed with a similar reduction to below the control levels of 75 mg/100 ml/24 h on day 54. The daily mean changes reflect a change in the amplitude of the diurnal variation. The daily peak in plasma insulin shifted progressively to the late evening during the bedrest period.