Test for Chlorpropamide–Alcohol Flush Becomes Positive after Prolonged Chlorpropamide Treatment in Insulin-Dependent and Non–Insulin-Dependent Diabetics

Abstract

A DISTINCT facial flush after ingestion of an alcoholic drink occurs in some diabetic patients treated with chlorpropamide.^{1 , 2} Leslie and Pyke^{3 , 4} have proposed that this response, now known as the chlorpropamide–alcohol flush,³ is a dominantly inherited genetic marker for a specific and common subtype of non–insulin-dependent (Type II) diabetics. Using a standard test for the chlorpropamide–alcohol flush, consisting of a single challenge with 250 mg of chlorpropamide followed 12 hours later by 40 ml of sherry,³ Leslie and Pyke reported positive responses (an unequivocal subjective flush sensation when the sherry was ingested after chlorpropamide but not after placebo) in 51 . . .