EFFECT OF SOMATOSTATIN ON BASAL AND GLUCOSE INDUCED INSULIN RELEASE IN FIVE PATIENTS WITH HYPERINSULINAEMIA

Abstract

Somatostatin in a dose of 490 .mu.g over 90 min inhibited basal insulin release in 1 subject with hyperplasia of the pancreatic islets and in 2 with benign insulin secretin adenomas. These 3 subjects also showed a marked insulin response to glucose infusion. No inhibitory effect of somatostatin was observed in 2 patients with benign insulinomas who demonstrated only a minor response to glucose. In the patient with islet hyperplasia and in 1 of the adenoma patients, who had an exaggerated insulin response to glucose (maximal response 10-30 times the basal insulin value), somatostatin also suppressed glucose induced insulin release. The data suggest a beneficial therapeutic effect of somatostatin in patients with spontaneous hyperinsulinism with a pronounced insulin response to glucose.