Metabolism of Fructose by the Liver of Diabetic and Non-Diabetic Subjects.

Abstract

The metabolism of intraven. administered fructose (1 g./kg./hr.) in the liver was investigated by hepatic vein catheterization studies in 3 diabetic patients deprived of insulin and in 3 non-diabetic subjects. During the 1 hour period of infusion approx. one-third of the fructose was taken up by the liver similarly in both diabetic and non-diabetic subjects. In all but one case there was a large hepatic output of pyruvic and lactic acid. The liver of the one diabetic patient in ketosis, however, continued to remove these acids from the blood. The output of glucose by the liver was insufficient to account for the rise in peripheral blood glucose after fructose infusion. The authors conclude that in the absence of ketosis, the liver of the diabetic subject without insulin metabolizes fructose in a manner similar to that of the liver of the non-diabetic individual.