Insulin responses and glucose levels in plasma and cerebrospinal fluid during fasting and refeeding in the rat.

The present experiments were designed to investigate the rate of penetration of insulin from the plasma into the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) during 24 hr of fasting and refeeding in the light phase. The results show that under these conditions basal CSF-immunoreactive insulin (IRI) levels were positively correlated with plasma IRI levels. Basal plasma IRI fell during a fast but was similar to prefast control after one day of refeeding. Although CSF-IRI levels rose during glucose infusion, CSF-IRI was not elevated by glucose during a fast. During refeeding, CSF-IRI responses returned toward control, prefeeding values. This study suggests a decreased transport of insulin from plasma to CSF during fasting. The lower CSF-IRI levels achieved under these conditions may determine meal size by allowing larger meals after a fast.