The adrenal response to a soluble form of beta1-24-corticotropin (tetracosactrin [ACTH]: 250 microgram administered intramuscularly) was studied in 28 patients with meningitis due to Neisseria meningitidis (21 with petechiae and seven without) and in six patients with Salmonella typhi bacteremia. Six normal subjects also were tested for adrenal responsiveness at four different times of the day (8 A.M., 12 noon, 4 P.M., and 10 P.M.) and served as controls. The results showed that, whatever the time of testing, patients with meningococcal infections and typhoid fever had unstimulated (basal) levels of plasma cortisol above the 99% confidence limits for the mean unstimulated cortisol levels for the normal subjects. Furthermore, although patients with meningitis without petechiae and subjects with S. typhi bacteremia responded to ACTH stimulation in a manner similar to that of the normal subjects, most subjects with meningitis with petechiae did not have increased levels of plasma cortisol after treatment with ACTH. This lack of response could not be ascribed entirely to the higher basal levels of plasma cortisol in these patients. Patients with meningitis associated with petechiae may have a relatively decreased adrenal response to stimulation with exogenous ACTH.

No abstract

The effects of prolonged treatment with glyclazide [methyl-4-fenyl sulfonyl-1(perhydrocyclopenta(c) pyrrolyl-2)-3 urea] on blood glucose and plasma insulin responses to meals was studied in 8 obese patients with maturity-onset diabetes. Blood sampling was done 1 hr after meals for 2 consecutive days, on days 10 and 90 of therapy. Lower blood glucose curves were achieved on both days 10 and 90 in all patients. Plasma insulin curves in response to meals were higher than control on both days 10 and 90. The results may suggest that the long-term effect of glyclazide on blood glucose is related to a persistent stimulation of insulin secretion rather than to a predominant extrapancreatic action.

The disappearance curves of plasma insulin after intravenous injection of unlabelled pork insulin was studied in nine young female hyperthyroid subjects with Graves' disease and eleven young female normal subjects, who served as controls. Comparison of the curves by analysis of variance did not reveal statistical differences between them (F obtained = 2.8, F F 0.05 = 4.41), implying that there was no significant differences in the transference of injected insulin from plasma to the extra-vascular space between hyper- and euthyroid subjects. The results may suggest that the metabolism of insulin is not appreciably affected in hyperthyroidism.

A 24-year-old negress with the triad of acanthosis nigricans, hirsutism associated with polycystic ovaries and insulin resistance is reported. Metabolic studies were done 3 years after a bilateral ovarian wedge resection. Partial remission of the hirsutism and return of menstrual cycles occurred after surgery. Extreme resistance to endogenous and exogenous insulin was observed. Three studies of insulin receptors on circulating red blood cells (RBC) showed abnormal inhibition-competition curves, characterized by increased percentage insulin binding at higher unlabelled insulin levels. Scatchard plots suggested an apparent increase in the number of low affinity receptors. Despite the changes in receptor-insulin interaction, the defect does not seem to explain the insulin resistance since binding of insulin to a target tissue (RBC) appeared to be quantitatively normal at physiological insulin levels, suggesting a simultaneous post receptor defect.