Debrisoquine hydroxylation polymorphism in diabetic patients.

Debrisoquine hydroxylation was assessed in 54 type I and in 42 type II diabetic patients. The distribution of metabolic ratio debrisoquine/4-hydroxydebrisoquine (MR) in urine of the patients was compared with a MR-distribution of 176 healthy subjects, and the correlation of glucose balance parameters with the MR was investigated. One poor metabolizer of debrisoquine was found among type I diabetics but no poor metabolizers were found among type II diabetics. Despite the low frequency of the poor metabolizers, the prevalences of debrisoquine hydroxylation phenotypes did not differ from that in healthy volunteers in either diabetic group. No correlation was found between MR and fasting blood glucose or blood glycosylated hemoglobin A1c, whereas a negative correlation was evident between age and the excretion of 4-hydroxydebrisoquine in urine. In summary, debrisoquine hydroxylation is essentially unaltered in type I and type II diabetes mellitus, and no relationship exists between debrisoquine hydroxylation and glucose balance.