EOSINOPHIL VARIATION IN THE COURSE OF INSULIN COMA THERAPY
HARLEY C. SHANDS M. D.1, and
DORIS MENZER M. D.1
1 The Boston State Hospital, Boston, Mass.
We have investigated the numbers of circulating eosinophils in schizophrenic patients in relation to the hypoglycemia induced by the injection of insulin before, during, and after a routine course of insulin coma therapy. In the period prior to ICT, these patients demonstrate an orderly relation between these 2 indices of function, and this relation is meaningful in the light of the clinical manifestations noted. In the course of ICT there is a loss of the eosinophil-decreasing effect of hypoglycemia in all patients, and in two-thirds of the group there is in addition a considerable eosinophilia. Subsequent to ICT, there is a dissociation between eosinophil numbers and blood sugar level and a very pronounced lack of clinical response in the face of more severe hypoglycemia. The possible significance of these results is discussed.
