AIRarg and AIRgluc as predictors of insulin secretory reserve

Various brief metabolic tests have been proposed as surrogate measures of insulin secretory reserve, which is normally determined by the more complicated and labor-intensive method of glucose potentiation of arginine-induced insulin secretion (GPAIS). This article provides correlations between insulin responses to intravenous arginine (AIRarg) and intravenous glucose (AIRgluc) in 39 normal control subjects in whom insulin secretory reserve was measured by GPAIS. The correlation coefficients were .78 and .77, respectively, both of which were highly statistically significant ( P < .001). These results indicate that either AIRarg or AIRgluc, tests that can be performed in less than 15 minutes, can be used as reliable predictors of insulin secretory reserve in normal controls and, presumably, in recipients of islet and pancreas transplantation.