To examine the effect of a four-day fast on neutral glyceride mobilization in human adipocytes, subcutaneous abdominal fat tissue was obtained from ten human volunteers after an overnight fast and then after four days of fasting. Plasma insulin concentration decreased from 31 +/- 5 microU/ml before the four-day fast to 9 +/- 1 microU/ml after the fast (P less than 0.05). Plasma free fatty acid… Read More

88 unselected patients with acute pancreatitis entered a randomized clinical trial comparing the therapeutic efficacy of fasting alone, nasogastric suction and fasting plus cimetidine. The disease was mild to moderate in all but 3 cases, and cholelithiasis was the main etiological factor. The number of treatment failures and complications, and the clinical outcome were similar in the three… Read More

In spite of numerous studies of short-term (less than 30 days) fasts, current knowledge of prolonged fasting, the mechanisms of adaptation, and the causes of death are limited.A healthy 48-year-old man fasted voluntarily, on water only, for 54 days, during which time he offered himself as an experimental subject. Numerous metabolic parameters were measured, and his mental state was evaluated.… Read More

An increased mobilization of the hepatic glycogen is necessary for the maintenance of glucose homeostasis during exercise. To examine the effect of exercise on glucose metabolism when the hepatic glycogen stores are depleted, five prolonged-fasted (60-h, PF) subjects were investigated. Arterial concentrations and splanchnic exchange of glucose and gluconeogenic precursors were studied at rest… Read More

Exhaustive graded exercise leads to changes of hormones, carbohydrate, and lipid metabolism in normal controls and obese patients after prolonged starvation. Concomitant with a large increase of plasma catecholamines, insulin concentration is reduced and blood glucose levels slowly increase. More glucose is made available by glycogenolysis and gluconeogenesis than can be oxidized in the… Read More

The plasma GIP response to an oral 50 g glucose tolerance test has been compared in eight non-obese human subjects after 12 and 36 h of fasting. Basal plasma GIP and basal plasma insulin concentrations were similar after 12 and 36 h of fasting. Basal blood glucose was lower after 36 h fasting than after 12 h fasting (p less than 0.0125). After 36 h fasting the oral glucose tolerance test… Read More