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In 10 patients with diabetes of long duration, most of them exhibiting late manifestations of the disease, and in a control group the intrinsic factor secretion has been studied after stimulation with pentagastrin and insulin. The responses to pentagastrin were similar in the two groups, indicating that there was no serious destruction of the gastric mucosa. On the other hand the secretory response differed after insulin stimulation. In the diabetic group the response was about 4/10 of the pentagastrin response, the corresponding proportion in the control group being about 9/10. This discrepancy is interpreted as a manifestation of diabetic neuropathy.

In order to study the secretory sensitivity, which could be a measure of the cholinergic activity in the acid secretory glands, response curves to graded doses of intravenously infused pentagastrin have been recorded for 11 patients with diabetes mellitus and 7 control subjects. ED50, i.e. that dose which gives 50% of the maximal response, was calculated. In some patients of the diabetic group the dose response curve is shifted to the right with an elevated ED50. These findings are interpreted as reflecting reduced cholinergic influences of the stomach.