FAT METABOLISM IN DIABETES MELLITUS 1

Abstract

The problem of fat metabolism in diabetes mellitus and its relation to ketonuria is reviewed and discussed. Evidence is presented favoring the replacement of the successive [beta] oxidation hypothesis of fatty acids by the multiple alternate oxidation hypothesis. The diabetic animal utilizes ketone bodies in the periphery abundantly and independently of carbohydrate oxidation. The hypothesis of obligatory coupling of ketone body-carbohydrate oxidation in diabetes mellitus is not supported by the quantitative data in a series of cases. A simple hypothesis of fat metabolism in diabetes mellitus is presented and shown to conform to the observations in these cases. Other significant problems in fat metabolism are discussed.