The Effect of Ethanol on Overnight Glucose Regulation in Type 2

Inclusion Criteria: All type 2 diabetes subjects will be aged 50 to 75 years and will have carried the diagnosis of diabetes according to standard criteria and will be receiving insulin therapy alone or in combination with oral diabetes medications for at least 6 months. To exclude subjects with type 1 diabetes, all patients will be anti-GAD antibody negative and will retain the ability to secrete some nominal level of c-peptide in response to stimulation (i.e.- at least 2 ng/ml after ingesting Boost Plus). All subjects will be mentally fit to give informed consent. Nondiabetic control subjects will meet similar inclusion criteria (except for diabetes and hemoglobin A1C criteria). Control subjects will be matched as a group for age, gender and BMI. Finally, control subjects will undergo a standard 75 gram Oral Glucose Tolerance Test to assure the presence of normal glucose tolerance (142). Exclusion Criteria: Exclusion criteria for all study subjects will include the existence of severe cardiovascular, hepatic or renal disease, or current malignancy as determined by the screening evaluation. Subjects with a past or current history of drug or alcohol abuse will also be excluded from study, as will subjects with a previously diagnosed seizure disorder, subjects with sleep apnea by medical history or as demonstrated during the accommodation sleep study night, subjects with diabetic gastroparesis, or subjects receiving current treatment medications that interfere with glucose homeostasis other than for diabetes therapy (e.g.- glucocorticoids, orlistat). Because of the known adverse effects of ethanol on unborn children, current intrauterine pregnancy will exclude patients from study. A body mass index greater than 36 kg/m2 will also be exclusionary. Additionally, subjects with a score of more than eight points on the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) will be excluded from study.