Glucose Tolerance Tests
Glucose tolerance tests can be used to assess the antidiabetic potential of novel drugs in normal rats or mice or rodent models of insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes. Animals are normally fasted to reduce variability and to enable baseline glucose and insulin levels to be measured before the glucose tolerance test. Plasma samples are taken before and after drug administration and at multiple time points post-glucose (using indwelling cannulae in rats) to evaluate the effects of the novel agent on the plasma glucose and insulin excursions produced by the glucose load. Compounds and glucose can be given by a variety of routes (eg po, ip or iv). Glucose tolerance tests can be performed following acute or chronic administration of the test drug given alone or in combination with other antidiabetic medications to assess whether the effects of the different treatments on glycaemic control are additive or synergistic.
