Isotonic glucose is often the sole nutrient provided to hospitalized patients with varying degrees of protein calorie malnutrition. To study the effects of such diets uncomplicated by illness, normal human subjects were fasted (6 to 14 days) before receiving an infusion of 5% dextrose (5 to 7 days). Norepinephrine excretion rose steadily-to six times control values-during the first 6 days of… Read More

We have assessed the effect of fasting for 10 days on plasma concentrations of immunoreactive somatomedin C and urinary urea excretion in seven obese male volunteers. From a mean prefast value of 0.83 U/ml, plasma somatomedin C fell to 0.21 U/ml after 10 days of fasting. A prompt increase was observed with refeeding. The change in somatomedin C during fasting showed a highly significant… Read More

A comparison of the metabolic and gastroentero-pancreatic hormonal responses of ten obese and eight lean subjects to 12 h and 36 h fasts has been made. Each subject was given a 50 g oral glucose tolerance test at the end of both 12 h and 36 h starvation. After the 12 h fast blood glucose and 3-hydroxybuty-rate were similar in each group but blood glycerol was 30% higher in the obese subjects.… Read More

To investigate reproductive function during fasting, six men 20-74% over ideal body weight completed an 18-day study consisting of a 3-day control period, a 10-day total fast, and a 5-day refeeding period. All men lost at least 4.1% of total weight and demonstrated ketonemia and ketonuria. The FSH response to LRH (0.2 microgram/min for 4 h) stimulation was significantly lower (P less than 0.05… Read More

Activation of lipolysis by cyclic AMP in conditions with accelerated lipid mobilization was examined in subcutaneous adipose tissue incubated in vitro. In (a) 16 obese patients before and during therapeutic starvation, (b) 18 diabetics before and after antidiabetic treatment and (c) 11 hyperthyroid patients before and after anti-thyroid treatment, a positive correlation was found between… Read More

The variations in blood ketone bodies, blood glucose, and insulin were studied in 19 normal and 14 hypoglycemic children, 4 months to 13 years of age, during a 24-hour fast. Except in four patients (two with hyperinsulinism and two with congenital defect in ketogenesis), a significant increase in blood ketone bodies was observed in both controls and patients. A progressive decrease in glucose… Read More

Eight healthy men (17–31 yr) were studied in the postabsorptive state(control) and after a 59-h fast. They had venous blood drawn at rest and during 10 min of moderate work (treadmill running requiring 60% of the individual maximal oxygen uptake) succeeded by 5 min of heavy work (requiring 100% of the individual maximal oxygen uptake). Fasting resulted in a halving of insulin concentrations, a… Read More