Failure to adequately adapt reduced insulin sensitivity with increased insulin secretion in women with impaired glucose tolerance

To study the islet adaptation to reduced insulin sensitivity in normal and glucose intolerant post-menopausal women, we performed a euglycaemic, hyperinsulinaemic clamp in 108 randomly selected women, aged 58-59 years. Of the 20 women with the lowest insulin sensitivity, 11 had impaired glucose tolerance (IGT) whereas 9 had normal glucose tolerance (NGT). These women together with 15 women with medium insulin sensitivity and 16 women with high insulin sensitivity and NGT were further examined with arginine stimulation at three glucose levels (fasting, 14 and > 25 mmol/l). In NGT, the acute insulin response (AIR) to 5 g i.v. arginine at all three glucose levels and the slope(AIR) i.e. the glucose potentiation of insulin secretion, were markedly increased in the women with the lowest insulin sensitivity and NGT compared to those with medium or high insulin sensitivity. In contrast, in low insulin sensitivity, AIR was significantly lower in IGT than in NGT (at glucose 14 mmol/l p = 0.015, and at > 25 mmol/l p = 0.048). The potentiation of AIR induced by low insulin sensitivity in women with NGT was reduced by 74 % (AIR at 14 mmol/l glucose) and 57 % (AIR at > 25 mmol/l glucose), respectively, in women with IGT. Also the slope(AIR) was lower in IGT than in NGT (p = 0.025); the increase in slope(AIR) due to low insulin sensitivity was abolished in IGT. In contrast, glucagon secretion was not different between women with IGT as opposed to NGT. We conclude that as long as there is an adequate beta-cell adaptation to low insulin sensitivity with increased insulin secretory capacity and glucose potentiation of insulin secretion, NGT persists.