Increased intrahematic glycolysis in vitro in subjects with high-risk of diabetes.

IGH (intrahematic glycolysis) was studiedin vitro in a group of 36 diabetic high-risk subjects during a standard oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT). Glycolysis was expressed as μmoles of glucose disappearance per gram of hemoglobin and hour of incubation. The results were compared with those of a group of 20 metabolically normal control subjects. Significant differences were found at 30 (p<0.01), 60 (p<0.005), and 180 min (p<0.015). From this group of 36 high-risk subjects, we separated the following accessory groups: a prediabetic group (13 offspring of diabetic couples), a group of 23 individuals with a normal OGTT according to our own criteria, and finally a group of 9 subjects with equally normal OGTT, but without any of the so-called nongenetic indicators of diabetes. Only this last group failed to show significant alterations ofin vitro IHG. While an explanation of the intimate mechanism of the phenomenon is still lacking, the phenomenon itself provides an interesting procedure in the study of early diabetes.