| Abstract: | Thirty eight children and adolescents aged 3 to 19 years with insulin-dependent diabetes had basal plasma C-peptide levels 50 to 70 p. 100 lower than comparable non-diabetic subjects. An appreciable residual fasting endogenic secretion greater than 1 ng/ml was found in half the patients during the first two years after the onset of diabetes. After this period, the concentrations were almost always lower than 1 ng/ml and in half the cases, at the lower limit of detection. In addition, it was difficult to stimulate C-peptide secretion by food or drugs. The effects of variations in blood glucose were made allowance for by using molar C-peptide/glucose ratio. This gives a better evaluation of the inverse relationship between residual pancreatic function and the duration of the diabetes and of the degree of residual beta-langerhans secretion to help obtain stable metabolic equilibrium. |
