Reduced glucose clearance as the major determinant of postabsorptive hyperglycemia in diabetic rats

Rats treated with varying doses of streptozotocin (STZ) were used to investigate the relationships among postabsorptive glucose concentration, hepatic glucose output and glucose clearance. Results reveal that the pathophysiology of STZ-induced diabetes in rats involves primarily reduced glucose clearance although there is a contribution from the hepatic glucose output in experimental animals receiving the highest dose of STZ.