Effect of Oral Administration of Glucose on Blood ATP Level in Diabetic Patients

The fluctuations of blood ATP (adenosine triphosphate) and inorganic phosphorus after glucose ingestion were studied in eight diabetic and ten nondiabetic subjects. The ingestion of glucose produced an increase in blood ATP both in the diabetic and the nondiabetic groups and no statistically significant difference was obtained between these two groups. This finding is apparently contradictory to our previous findings in which a latent disturbance of blood ATP formation was confirmed in diabetic patients. The reason of this discrepancy was discussed. The blood inorganic phosphorus was depressed by oral administration of glucose and this was much less marked in the diabetic group. Two younger diabetic cases showed a reverse reaction of blood inorganic phosphorus to the glucose ingestion.