The Effects of Long-Term Administration of Tolbutamide to (Alloxan)-Subdiabetic Rats

Abstract

BECAUSE of the increasing use of the sulfourea drugs in the treatment of diabetes^{1 2 3} it has become important to study the long-term effects of these compounds. The evidence thus far obtained suggests that after administration of a single dose of the sulfourea drugs, insulin is released into the pancreatic vein.⁴ The sulfourea drugs have likewise been shown to have hypoglycemic effects in the totally depancreatized animal treated with suboptimal doses of insulin.⁵ If the sulfourea drugs stimulate the beta cells in the islands of Langerhans of the pancreas, their prolonged administration could have deleterious effects on the islands similar to . . .