Effects of Recurrent Insulin Induced Hypoglycemia on Hemodynamic Function

Recurring insulin‐induced hypoglycemia is an unavoidable risk of conventional therapeutic management of insulin dependent diabetes mellitus. Insulin may contribute to the pathogenesis of hypertension by stimulating the sympathetic nervous system and/or by promoting renal sodium retention. The current study was preformed to evaluate the hypothesis that chronic insulin injections and/or hypoglycemia promote hypertension and renal damage via an increase in renal angiotensin II. Male Sprague Dawley rats (200 – 225g) were treated for 2 weeks with varying doses of subcutaneous insulin injections (1, 3, 5, and 7U/kg bw). A subset of rats (200 –225g) were fed normal or high zinc diets for 2 weeks and were treated with Captopril (2mg/Kg) + DALA (80μg/Kg). Tail‐cuff blood pressure, food and water intake, weight, and glucose states were monitored daily. A dose dependent increase in blood pressure was observed. A dose dependent decrease in blood glucose was observed. There were no significant differences in heart rate and urine output observed between groups. There was a significant reduction in blood pressure and renal heme oxygenase content with Captopril and high Zn diet pretreatments. Future studies will include evaluation of excised renal tissue for angiotensin II content and metabolic studies to further examine the effects of hypoglycemia on renal function. Supported by NSF PFUND 2010 and HHMI.