Exercise and Blood Glucose Concentration in Intact and Pancreatectomized Dogs

Abstract

Exercise studies were performed on 6 intact and 7 pancreatectomized, unanesthetized dogs to examine the conditions under which exercise decreases the concentration of glucose in blood. No major change in blood glucose concentration was demonstrated during exercise experiments on normoglycemic intact dogs. In the pancreatectomized dogs during exercise the blood glucose concentration curves followed one of 2 patterns: rose or fell with exercise. In dogs with baseline blood glu-cose concentrations less than 400 mg /100 ml a sustained decline in blood glucose occurred with exercise, while in those dogs with an initial level greater than 400, a rise occurred. During continuous infusion of insulin no exercise effect was evident in a pancreatectomized dog with blood glucose concentration near the normal range. Exercise produced a decrease in blood glucose concentration in an intact dog with hyperglycemia induced by glucose infusion, but this dog''s blood glucose level increased during rest periods following exercise.