INSULIN AND GLUCAGON-RESPONSES TO ADRENALINE INFUSION IN ABDOMINAL OBESE MEN

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the hormonal, cardiovascular and metabolic r esponses of visceral vs subcutaneous obese men to infused adrenaline. DESIGN: Intervention study of an hour adrenaline infusion (0.01 mu g/k g fat-free mass/min). SUBJECTS: Eighteen moderately obese men (age: 30 -40 y, BMI: 28-34 kg/m(2)) divided according to their degree (low vs h igh) of visceral adipose tissue (AT) accumulation. MEASUREMENTS: Vario us fatness and fat distribution variables (computed tomography and ant hropometry), heart rate and blood pressure, plasma concentrations of g luco-regulatory hormones, glucose, glycerol and free fatty acids (FFA) . RESULTS: Similar increases were noted in heart rate, plasma adrenali ne, FFA and glycerol levels in both low and high visceral AT groups af ter hormonal infusion. There was a tendency for plasma glucagon respon ses to be higher in men with high amounts of visceral fat (p = 0.07). Plasma glucose levels increased in both groups, but significantly more in men with low levels of visceral AT (p < 0.05), whereas plasma insu lin concentrations increased significantly only in men with high amoun ts of visceral AT in response to adrenaline infusion (p < 0.01), In th e overall sample of obese men, visceral AT accumulation (but not the f at mass) was positively correlated with plasma insulin (r = 0.70) and glucagon responses (r = 0.63) to the hormone infusion (p < 0.01). Thes e metabolic responses were not related to the achieved catecholamine c oncentration. CONCLUSION: These results suggest that some of the impai rments in plasma glucose-insulin homeostasis noted in visceral obesity may be related to an abnormal metabolic response to an adrenaline cha llenge.