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British Medical Journal (Clinical Research Ed.) logoLink to British Medical Journal (Clinical Research Ed.)
. 1987 Feb 21;294(6570):465–467. doi: 10.1136/bmj.294.6570.465

Effect of chloroquine on insulin and glucose homoeostasis in normal subjects and patients with non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus.

G D Smith, T A Amos, R Mahler, T J Peters
PMCID: PMC1245517  PMID: 3103729

Abstract

Plasma glucose, insulin, and C peptide concentrations were determined after an oral glucose load in normal subjects and in a group of patients with non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus before and during a short course of treatment with chloroquine. In the control group there was a small but significant reduction in fasting blood glucose concentration but overall glucose tolerance and hormone concentrations were unaffected. In contrast, the patients with non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus showed a significant improvement in their glucose tolerance, which paralleled the severity of their diabetes. This response seems to reflect decreased degradation of insulin rather than increased pancreatic output. These observations suggest that treatment with chloroquine or suitable analogues may be a new approach to the management of diabetes.

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Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

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