Summary
Withholding of insulin therapy in alloxan diabetic rats results in a steady increase of plasma corticosterone, which is associated with a decrease in pH and bicarbonate and with an increase in plasma FFA and ketone bodies. Adrenalectomy prevents the development of ketoacidosis after withholding insulin therapy, whereas stimulation of the adrenal cortex accelerates the development of diabetic ketoacidosis. In insulin deficiency a stress signal produces significantly higher corticosterone levels when compared with normal rats. It is concluded that glucocorticoids are involved in the development of ketoacidosis in the insulin deficient rat.
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L'age, M., Fechner, W., Langholz, J. et al. Relationship between plasma corticosterone and the development of ketoacidosis in the alloxan diabetic rat. Diabetologia 10, 131–134 (1974). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01219668
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01219668