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Elevated plasma glucagon in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis
Plain-language guide to PMID 1641148 (1992): randomized controlled trial of Glucagon in 11 patients.
Key Facts
- PMID
- 1641148
- Journal
- Neurology
- Year
- 1992
- Study type
- Randomized Controlled Trial
- Authors
- Hubbard RW et al. (6 authors)
- DOI
- 10.1212/wnl.42.8.1532
What This Study Did, in Plain Language
What Was Tested
The paper reports a study of Glucagon, published as a randomized controlled trial.
The researchers randomly administered two test meals, differing only in protein source (soy versus casein) at least 1 week apart and measured fasting and postprandial bloods for glucagon, insulin, and glucose levels in 11 ALS patients.
With the soy test meal, glucagon levels were elevated in all ALS patients compared with controls: at fasting (237 +/- 111 versus 108 +/- 46 pg/ml, p less than 0.01) and 1/2 hour (389 +/- 94 versus 133 +/- 68 pg/ml, p less than 0.001), and 2 hours postprandial (379 +/- 75 versus 108 +/- 53 pg/ml, p less than 0.001).
Who Took Part
The study group was 11 patients.
The age groups tagged for this paper are adults, middle-aged adults and older adults, both men and women.
How the Study Was Run
In design terms this was a randomized study.
Random assignment meant chance, not the researchers, decided who got Glucagon and who got the comparison, which limits bias.
What Was Measured
The researchers randomly administered two test meals, differing only in protein source (soy versus casein) at least 1 week apart and measured fasting and postprandial bloods for glucagon, insulin, and glucose levels in 11 ALS patients.
With the soy test meal, glucagon levels were elevated in all ALS patients compared with controls: at fasting (237 +/- 111 versus 108 +/- 46 pg/ml, p less than 0.01) and 1/2 hour (389 +/- 94 versus 133 +/- 68 pg/ml, p less than 0.001), and 2 hours postprandial (379 +/- 75 versus 108 +/- 53 pg/ml, p less than 0.001).
PubMed files the paper under topics including Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, Blood Glucose, Eating, Fasting, Glucagon, Insulin and Neurologic Examination.
What This Means in Plain Language
The paper is a randomized study of Glucagon in 11 patients.
With fewer than 40 people, it is a small study, so it is better read as an early signal for further research than as a settled answer.
The publication is from 1992 (Neurology), a journal based in United States.
More context: the Glucagon compound page, all human trials.
Our Notes on the Compound
Glucagon: A 29-amino-acid pancreatic hormone that raises blood glucose; used as a rescue medicine for severe low blood sugar and as a diagnostic aid.
Related Pages
Source: PubMed record. This explanation is written by PeptideWhiz from the public record. For research and education only. Not medical advice; no dosing information is given.