Influence of Ethanol and Tolbutamide on Carbohydrate Metabolism in the Dog

To investigate the influence of tolbutamide and ethanol on intermediary metabolism and blood sugar levels, eight dogs (two male and six female), weighing between 8 and 17 kg, were each given 225 mg of tolbutamide per kg of body weight by mouth and 2 1/2 hours later either 15 ml per kg of water or of a 20% aqueous solution of ethanol by stomach tube, or ethanol or water alone. The experiments were conducted at 1- or 2-week intervals. Blood samples were taken from the femoral vein before the tolbutamide, before the alcohol or water and then at 15, 30, 60 and 120 minutes. Sera were assayed for glucose by a glucose oxidase method and for insulin by a double antibody tracer method. The mean initial fasting levels of serum glucose of seven dogs (one had an anomalous reaction to tolbutamide) ranged from 65 to 80 mg per 100 ml. Mean serum glucose levels remained unchanged in the control series; at 60 min declined to 42 mg per 100 ml after tolbutamide, measured 88 mg per 100 ml after alcohol and 79 mg per 100 ml after tolbutamide and alcohol. By analysis of variance, the effects of alcohol and tolbutamide were significant. Serum insulin levels changed significantly after tolbutamide (from 28 μIU per ml at 0 min to 22 at 15 min and 27 at 120 min) and after tolbutamide and alcohol (from 32 μIU at 0 min to 23 at 15 min and 28 at 120 min); there were no significant variations due to alcohol, to interaction of the two treatments or to animal variation. It is suggested that the hyperglycemia after alcohol was due to nervous stimulation and the discharge of epinephrine, a reaction which was accentuated by tolbutamide because the sulfonylurea had promoted storage of glycogen in the liver

Carbohydrate · Carbohydrate Metabolism · Ethanol · Insulin · Tolbutamide · Biochemistry · Chemistry · Diet and metabolism studies · Endocrinology · Internal Medicine · Medicine · Metabolism and Genetic Disorders · Peroxisome Proliferator-Activated Receptors