Oral glucose tolerance and hormonal response in heroin-dependent males.

Tests on 12 heroin addicts showed that their response to a glucose load differed from that in normal controls. Though the fasting blood sugar was normal, the rise in blood glucose after a standard 50-g oral glucose tolerance test was delayed and the rise smaller than in the controls. The heroin addicts had high resting insulin levels and a delayed peak response to an oral glucose load, and their growth hormone response was also abnormal.