The glucose oxidation in isolated leukocytes from female patients suffering from overweight or anorexia nervosa.

Leukocytes from controls and patients with either overweight or anorexia nervosa were incubated with [U-14C]glucose in buffer with or without 50 percent serum. The production of [14C]O2 was measured both under phagocytosing and nonphagocytosing conditions. On the average leukocytes from the two groups of patients produced less [14C]O2 than leukocytes from the controls. Sera from controls stimulated the glucose oxidation in control leukocytes more than sera from patients with anorexia nervosa and less than sera from overweight patients. Neither the insulin nor the glucose content of the sera was of importance for the results. We assume that other serum factors may contribute to the reduced glucose oxidation in leukocytes from patients with anorexia nervosa, whereas this is not the case for patients with overweight.