AJP - Endocrinology and Metabolism, Vol 266, Issue 3 E501-E509, Copyright © 1994 by American Physiological Society

ARTICLES

Free fatty acid and glucose metabolism in human aging: evidence for operation of the Randle cycle

R. C. Bonadonna, L. C. Groop, D. C. Simonson and R. A. DeFronzo
Metabolism Unit, University of Pisa, Italy.

We assessed insulin effects on plasma free fatty acid (FFA) and glucose metabolism in seven elderly (71 +/- 2 yr) and in seven younger (21 +/- 1 yr) subjects matched for body weight and body mass index but not for percent body fat (32.4 +/- 3.8% in elderly vs. 20.4 +/- 3.5% in young, P < 0.05), by performing sequential euglycemic clamps at five insulin doses (0.6, 1.5, 3, 6, and 15 pmol.min-1.kg-1) in combination with indirect calorimetry and [1-14C]palmitate plus [3-3H]glucose infusion. At baseline, plasma FFA concentration, turnover infusion. At baseline, plasma FFA concentration, turnover and oxidation, and total lipid oxidation were all increased in the elderly (897 +/- 107 vs. 412 +/- 50 mumol/l and 11.2 +/- 1.4 vs. 5.14 +/- 0.86, 3.45 +/- 0.65 vs. 1.37 +/- 0.25, and 4.63 +/- 0.72 vs. 3.01 +/- 0.33 mumol.min-1.kg-1 lean body mass, P < 0.05 for all comparisons), whereas glucose turnover was similar as a result of decreased glucose oxidation (8.2 +/- 1.4 vs. 13 +/- 1.9 mumol.min-1.kg-1 lean body mass, P < 0.05) and increased glucose storage (6.6 +/- 1.4 vs. 1.7 +/- 1.3 mmol.min-1.kg-1 lean body mass, P < 0.05). At all insulin infusions, plasma FFA concentration, turnover and oxidation, and total lipid oxidation were higher in the elderly than in the younger group (P < 0.05). However, if normalized per fat mass, all FFA and lipid metabolic fluxes, both in the postabsorptive state and during hyperinsulinemia, were comparable in the two groups.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

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