Reproducibility of 100 gm. oral glucose tolerance test and of Sakaguchi's rice-meal test were studied in sixty untreated mild diabetic patients with fasting blood sugar below 140 mg. per 100 ml. (Hagedorn-Jensen method).The tests were performed twice within a one-week interval. There were considerable variations of blood sugar levels in the same individuals between the duplicate tests. Variations were of similar magnitude after glucose or rice-meal and were smaller for the fasting blood sugar. There was no positive relationship between blood sugar levels after loading and their variability. Such a relationship was, however, clearly demonstrated for the fasting blood sugar levels of 360 newly referred diabetics. Average blood sugar levels and standard deviations for each group remained very stable despite individual variability. Implications of the data on evaluation of the results of these oral tests are discussed. DIABETES 15: 901-04, December, 1966.

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Blood sugar changes were studied in anesthetized dogs before and after pancreatectomy, which was carried out in two stages, the latter being relatively atraumatic. The blood sugar remained normal for 1.5 to 4 hrs. after total pancreatectomy, then increased to the diabetic level.Comparison of glucose tolerance before and immediately after acute pancreatectomy revealed no significant change by either intravenous or intraduodenal route.Thus, a sudden cessation of insulin supply does not necessarily result in immediate hyperglycemia. A normal glucose tolerance appears possible temporarily in the absence of any increase in insulin secretion. DIABETES 15:179-82, March, 1966. It is generally assumed that insulin release from the pancreas is primarily regulated by the glucose concentration in circulating blood, 1 " 13 and that a transitory increase in insulin secretion in response to hyperglycemia is essential for a normal glucose tolerance curve. 1 ' 4 ' 9 " 12 In our previous reports, 14 " 17 however, it has been pointed out that the proponents of this hypothesis have not necessarily proved that an increased rate of insulin secretion in response to a glucose load is an indispensable requirement for a normal glucose tolerance.In the present study, blood sugar changes and glucose tolerance were measured following quick removal of the pancreas, and the persistence of normoglycemia and normal glucose tolerance were demonstrated during a few hours after pancreatectomy. METHODSBlood is supplied to the canine pancreas by three important artery systems. The head of the pancreas receives blood from the superior and inferior pancreaticoduodenal arteries, and the tail of the pancreas is perfused by the pancreatic branches of the splenic artery. However, since the head of the pancreas is attached closely to the duodenum and the pancreatico-duodenal From the vessels also give many branches to the duodenum, rapid removal of the pancreas without sacrificing the blood supply of the duodenum is technically very difficult. For this reason, a two stage pancreatectomy was employed.Adult mongrel dogs weighing approximately io kg. were anesthetized with injection of sodium pentobarbital. The first stage of the pancreatectomy was a preliminary separation of the pancreas from the duodenum, in which most of the small pancreatic branches of the pancreatico-duodenal vessels were ligated, leaving the blood supply to the duodenum intact. Upon separating the pancreas from the duodenum, a change in color was occasionally seen in small parts of the pancreas. At the end of this procedure, the pancreas was perfused only by ten to fifteen main branches of the vessel systems mentioned above. This separating procedure usually took about one hour.The second procedure of the pancreatectomy was carried out about one to four hours after the end of the preliminary procedure, when the elevation of blood sugar due to the first operation had subsided in most cases. In this procedure, the remaining major arterial and venous branches were ligated and cut within...

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