Lithium salts are commonly used in psychiatric patients and have been shown to have an insulinlike action in vitro. To define the impact of lithium ion on in vivo glucose metabolism, the effect of 2 wk of lithium treatment on plasma glucose and insulin concentrations, insulin-mediated glucose disposal, and skeletal muscle glycogen synthesis in normal and diabetic rats was examined. Our results demonstrated the ability of lithium ions to completely restore insulin sensitivity to normal in diabetic rats. The insulinmimetic activity of the cation seems to be highly specific for the glycogenic pathway in skeletal muscle. These results raise the possibility that lithium ion may prove effective in reversing the defect in glycogen storage that characterizes non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus in humans.
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Original Articles|
May 01 1989
Normalization of Insulin Sensitivity With Lithium in Diabetic Rats
Luciano Rossetti
Luciano Rossetti
Diabetes/Endocrinology Division, Yale University School of Medicine
New Haven, Connecticut
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Address correspondence and reprint requests to Dr. Luciano Rossetti, Diabetes Section, Department of Medicine, University of Texas Health Science Center, 7703 Floyd Curl Drive, San Antonio, TX 78284-7870.
Diabetes 1989;38(5):648–652
Article history
Received:
August 29 1988
Revision Received:
October 27 1988
Accepted:
October 27 1988
PubMed:
2653936
Citation
Luciano Rossetti; Normalization of Insulin Sensitivity With Lithium in Diabetic Rats. Diabetes 1 May 1989; 38 (5): 648–652. https://doi.org/10.2337/diab.38.5.648
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