THE SEXUAL VARIATION IN CARBOHYDRATE METABOLISM

Abstract

It seems evident from earlier investigat.ionsby Deuel and coworkers that there is variability due to sex in the method by which carbohydrates are metabolized.Thus, it was shown that during fasting a more severe ketosis and ketonuria are present in women than in men (Deuel and Gulick, 1932).Although no such difference was noted in the slight ketonuria which develops in rats during fasting, Butts and Deuel (1933) demonstrated that the amount of diacetic acid which was oxidized in fasting male rats was considerably higher than that utilized in the females when this acid was administered orally.Similar discrepancies were noted in the case of guinea pigs.These sex differences were found to continue undiminished for the durat,ion of the tests, at least 7 days in the rat experiments and 5 days with the guinea pigs.Although no sex difference was observed in the level of liver glycogen in unfasted rats which had previously been fed on a high carbohydrate diet, Deuel, Gulick, Grunewald, and Cutler (1934) found that the males had much higher averages in this constituent following 24, 48, or 72 hours of fasting than did the females.Owing to an abrupt rise in the liver glycogen in the female rats following this period, no differences were found after a 96 hour interval, while after a 120 hour fast a higher mean was obtained in * A preliminary report of some of these data has been published (Deuel,