Insulin Secretion in the Premature Infant: Response to Glucose and Amino Acids

Serum insulin was measured in fifty-one premature infants in the first twenty-four hours of life following the administration of glucose, a mixture of amino acids, or glucose with an amino acid mixture. Infusion of glucose (1.25 gm.) caused a rapid increase of blood glucose and a small rise in serum insulin. The amino acid mixture (2.5 gm.) produced, on the contrary, a rapid and marked increase of serum insulin but only a slight rise of blood glucose. When the dose of the amino acid mixture was halved, rise of serum insulin and blood glucose was small. Combining the reduced dose of amino acid mixture with glucose produced a rapid and striking increase of both serum insulin and blood glucose.