18-FDG in diabetes mellitus

The intravenous glucose tolerance test, IVGTT, has been used to evaluate patients in whom abnormalities in carbohydrate metabolism and diabetes mellitus are suspected. IVGTT, if analyzed using 'minimal models', or discrete-time methods, provides information on the sensitivity of glucose disappearance to insulin and on pancreatic sensitivity to glucose, information that cannot be obtained from direct analysis of the dynamic response alone. In a preliminary study, data obtained by intravenously injecting 18-FDG in four subjects was analyzed using a discrete-time model. The experimental details, the results and their implications will be discussed. (orig.)