Impaired insulin secretion in human diabetes mellitus III. The effect of the serotonin antagonist metergoline

Abstract

The present study was aimed at investigating the effect of metergoline, a powerful and long-lasting antiserotoninergic agent, on insulin responses to glucose and arginine in adult-onset diabetic subjects. The repeated administration of this agent (10 mg daily for two days plus a 4 mg dose 1 hour before the post-treatment test) or placebo did not influence acute insulin response to intravenous glucose (20 g), total insulin secretion or glucose disappearance rates. Similarly, plasma glucose and insulin levels following arginine (30 g perfused over a period of 40 min) were similar before and after metergoline treatment. These results do not support the hypothesis that an endogenous monoamine mechanism plays an important part in defective insulin secretion in human non insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus.