Does High Cortisol in Uremic Patients Influence Their Glucagon Levels?

In view of the data reported by Barseghian and Levine (1980) that cortisol exerts a direct stimulatory influence on glucagon secretion, the relationship between plasma cortisol and glucagon levels in a group of 43 patients with chronic renal failure (CRF) was investigated. A positive correlation (r = 0.363 and 0.811) was found with all patients studied or with 10 patients with urine output above 1000 ml/24 h, respectively. The result obtained suggest that the elevated cortisol levels play some role in the stimulation of glucagon secretion in CRF patients.