Somatostatin and diabetes.

Somatostatin, a tetradecapeptide originally isolated from the hypothalamus on the basis of its ability to inhibit the secretion of growth hormone, is now known to be widely distributed in various endocrine and gastrointestinal tissues and to have diverse actions, including inhibition of insulin and glucagon secretion. The location of somatostatin in pancreatic islet D cells suggests that it may act as a local regulator of insulin and glucagon secretion. Changes in islet D-cell function in experimentally-induced and spontaneous diabetes in animals suggest that the peptide may be involved in the pathogenesis of diabetes. Clinical studies with the peptide have provided insight into the physiologic roles of glucagon and growth hormone, and have indicated a potential therapeutic use for somatostatin in diabetes in man.