The metabolic effects of glucagon infusion in normoglycaemic and hypoglycaemic small-for-gestational-age infants. I. Changes in blood glucose, blood lactate and plasma free fatty acids

Abstract

The response to glucagon infusion of blood glucose, blood lactate and plasma FFA was studied in 7 normoglycaemic and 7 hypoglycaemic SGA infants. The infants received glucagon at a rate of 0.2 microng/kg/min into a cephalic vein for a period of four hours. Glucagon caused a marked and significant rise in blood glucose in both groups; from 66 +/- 12 mg/100 ml to 136 +/- 16 mg/100 ml in the normoglycaemic, and from 22 +/- 2 mg/100 ml to 69 +/- 13 mg/100 ml in the hypoglycaemic infants. The time course of the response was different: while in the former group blood glucose declined after the second hour of glucagon infusion, in the hypoglycaemic group the response persisted throughout the test period. In the normoglycaemic SGA infants FFA fell rapidly in response to glucagon, whereas no significant change occurred in hypoglycaemic infants. The different baseline lactate concentrations were not affected significantly.