Plasma Free Fatty Acids in Mental Patients before and after Intravenous Administration of Insulin

Abstract

Farstad, M. Plasma Free Fatty Acids in Mental Patients before and after Intravenous Administration of Insulin. Scand. J. din. Lab. Invest. 19, 101–105, 1967. Prolonged insulin-induced hypoglycemia in mental patients was accompanied by increased levels of blood glucose and plasma free fatty acids in the fasting state, and by a reduced ability to increase the plasma free fatty acids during the posthypoglycemic phase.

Myristic and oleic acids disappeared to a greater extent than the total fraction of free fatty acids during the initial hypoglycemia, whereas the disappearance of linoleic and arachidonic acids was less than the disappearance of the total fraction. The two latter acids were mobilized only to a slight degree during the post-hypoglycemic phase while myristic and oleic acids were mobilized at a higher degree than the total free fatty acid fraction.

Differences in the post-hypoglycemic mobilization of the individual free fatty acids in patients with a prolonged hypoglycemia were probably due to a reduced release of fatty acids from the fat depots in these patients.