Diazoxide was found to modify streptozotocin-induced diabetes in rats when given twelve hours and one hour before streptozotocin. In contrast to rats treated with streptozotocin alone, rats treated with diazoxide, 15 or 30 mg./kg., plus streptozotocin, 30 mg./kg., did not become clinically diabetic and had fasting blood glucose levels within the normal range. Diazoxide pretreatment protected against streptozotocin-induced glucose intolerance as defined by response to intraperitoneal glucose. Further, the immunoreactive insulin response to intraperitoneal glucose in the rats treated with both diazoxide and streptozotocin differed from the control value only at sixty minutes. It is possible that the protective effect of diazoxide is mediated through the adrenergic-like activity of diazoxide on the β-cell.

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