Abstract
Diabetes mellitus and cardiovascular disorders are both common disorders, and it could be anticipated that they coexist in many patients. Diltiazem (DZ) is widely used alone or in combination with propranolol (PROP) for the treatment of hypertension and ischemic heart disease. These drugs could interfere with carbohydrate metabolism and impair glucose tolerance. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of oral administration of DZ, PROP (100 and 25 mg kg^β1^, respectively) and their combination on fasting serum glucose and insulin levels in normal and diabetic Wistar rats. Diabetes was induced by an intraperitoneal (i.p.) injection of streptozotocin (60 mg kg^β1^). In normal animals, serum glucose was significantly increased after DZ, PROP and DZ/PROP treatment compared to the initial values. In diabetic rats, serum glucose was significantly increased after PROP and DZ/PROP treatments, while it was slightly increased after diltiazem treatment compared to the initial values. In normal animals, plasma cAMP is significantly decreased in all treatment groups compared to the control value, while in the plasma of diabetic rats, cAMP was significantly decreased after PROP and DZ/PROP treatments when compared to the control value. Serum potassium of normal rats decreased after the diltiazem and DZ/PROP treatments, and they tend to increase slightly after PROP treatment. Serum potassium of diabetic rats was increased significantly after PROP and DZ/PROP treatments compared to the initial values. Body weight is decreased significantly in all treatment groups in normal rats while this significant decrease was observed only after DZ/PROP treatment in diabetic rats. This investigation suggests that diltiazem alone has no worsening effects on the glycemic control in diabetic rats. The hyperglycemia observed with the DZ/PROP treatment may be due to the role of PROP on increasing glucose output from the liver by cAMP.