ENTEROGLUCAGON AND GIP AFTER ORAL GLUCOSE IN PATIENTS WITH PROLACTINOMA AND ACROMEGALY

We have performed oral glucose tolerance tests (OGTT) in nine patients with prolactinomas, eight patients with active acromegaly, five patients with acromegaly in remission and nine normal controls, and measured blood glucose, plasma insulin, pancreatic glucagon, enteroglucagon, gastric inhibitory polypeptide (GIP) and GH during the test. Patients with prolactinomas and with active acromegaly were hyperinsulinaemic and five of the nine patients with prolactinomas had impaired glucose tolerance, with blood glucose levels that were significantly higher than the normal controls. Prolactinoma patients had higher GIP levels than those with active acromegaly and both showed a failure of suppression of pancreatic glucagon. Of particular interest was the finding that enteroglucagon, a putative gut growth factor, was low in active acromegaly when compared with acromegaly in remission, but similar to normal in the rest of the patients.