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SomatostatinIts Possible Role in Carbohydrate Homeostasis and the Treatment of Diabetes Mellitus
John E. Gerich, MD
Arch Intern Med. 1977;137(5):659-666.
Abstract
Somatostatin, a peptide inhibitor of growth hormone release originally isolated from the hypothalamus, is also present in D cells of pancreatic islets. Its ability to inhibit the secretion of insulin and glucagon suggests that it may be a local regulator of pancreatic A- and B-cell function. Studies using synthetic somatostatin have provided evidence that glucagon is a physiologically important hormone that exacerbates the consequences of insulin deficiency in human diabetes mellitus. The ability of somatostatin to diminish both fasting and postprandial hyperglycemia and to forestall the development of ketoacidosis after withdrawal of insulin in insulin-dependent diabetics suggests a potential therapeutic use of this agent in diabetes. Presently, however, its short half-life and diverse actions preclude such use and have prompted the search for more specific and longer-acting analogs.
(Arch Intern Med 137:659-666, 1977)
Author Affiliations
From the Clinical Investigation Center, Naval Regional Medical Center, Oakland, Calif; and Metabolic Research Unit and Department of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco.
Footnotes
The opinions or assertions contained herein are the private ones of the author and are not to be construed as official or as reflecting the views of the Navy Department of the Naval service at large.
Reprint requests to Metabolic Research Unit, School of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco 94143 (Dr Gerich).
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