Effect of intra-arterial insulin on tissue cholesterol and fatty acids in alloxan-diabetic dogs.

DEGEXEKATIVE vascular disease is a well-known complication of diabetes mellitus and many diabetics die from the resultant damage to the cardiovascular system. Xonfatal illnesses secondary to diabetes mellitus, such as gangrene of the legs, blindness, cerebral vascular accidents and senile mental deterioration, impose a vast morbidity on the diabetic. These, too, are largely accountable to degenerative vascular disease." There are some indications that the incidence of vascular complications in diabetes mellitus has not decreased in spite of the great improvement in the control of the disease.° This may be the result of the increased longevity of the diabetic patient.G Animal experiments have given indications that insulin might have some aggravating influence on the development of atheromatous lesions." I t is then possible that the long-term usage of insulin in diabetic patients may play a role in the development of the atherosclerosis in these patients. The present study was undertaken in an attempt to find out if daily intra-arterial administration of insulin has any effect on the lipid content of the arterial wall in the diabetic animal. The experiments to be reported in-