Insulin receptors and insulin sensitivity in normo and hyperinsulinemic obese patients

The authors have studied insulin receptors on peripheral blood monocytes and insulin sensitivity, evaluated by simultaneous infusion of glucose, insulin and somatostatin in 10 control subjects and in 20 obese patients with normal glucose tolerance. The obese patients have been divided into two groups, normo (NO) and hyperinsulinemic (HO), according to the total insulin response during OGTT. We considered HO patients with insulin response higher than M + 2DS of controls. Obese patients showed, in comparison to the controls, a lower specific binding and higher degree of insulin resistance. The subdivision of obese patients allowed us to distinguish two groups. The first was characterized by b…