Clinical application of non-glucose stimulating test in the evaluation of pancreatic β-cell functions.

Objective To evaluate the applicability of AST and GST tests in the monitoring of pancreatic β cell functions in diabetic patients of different age, disease duration and BMI (body mass index). Method 60 patients were randomly divided into two groups: A and B. Levels of plasma glucose and arginine(Arg) were measured at 3 minutes after glucagon (Glg) stimulation. The release of C-peptide was determined at 6 minutes after glucagon stimulation. Result The levels of plasma glucose in group A and B patients were not changed after non-glucose stimulation (P0.05)..The levels of Arg and C-peptide were also not changed in all patients before and after stimulation (P0.05). Conclusion AST and GST are better than OGDD for DM patients. The response of pancreatic β cells to the two non-glucose stimuli Arg and Glg was similar. Both AST and GST are suitable in clinical evaluation of the pancreatic β cell functions.