STUDIES ON KETONE METABOLISM IN MAN. I. A METHOD FOR THE QUANTITATIVE ESTIMATION OF SPLANCHNIC KETONE PRODUCTION 12

Abstract

By utilizing the technique of hepatic vein catheterization, a method was developed for measuring directly the splanchnic production of ketones in man and permitting an indirect assessment of peripheral ketone utilization. A small but significant endogenous splanchnic ketone production was measured in 14 of 16 mildly ill male subjects in the post-absorptive state. This was increased approximately 5-fold during the intravenous administration of a ketone precursor, sodium octanoate. Two of 5 female subjects exhibited a higher basal output of ketone than did the males, but in only 1 female did the increase in ketone production after sodium octanoate infusion exceed that of the male series. The data should provide a useful baseline in evaluating the effects of metabolic and hormonal factors on splanchnic ketone production in man.