Treatment with insulin revolutionized the life of individuals with diabetes. However, because insulin acts to lower blood glucose levels, it can cause hypoglycemia (low levels of glucose in the blood), which, if prolonged, can lead to brain injury and coma.
Extremely prolonged hypoglycemia can cause the death of neurons and irreversible brain damage. In a study appearing in the April issue of the Journal of Clinical Investigation, researchers from the University of California at San Francisco found that in mice, hypoglycemic neuronal death is triggered when the mice are treated with a large amount of glucose and not by the hypoglycemia itself.
Researchers showed that although hypoglycemia induced some neuronal death, the rapid infusion of glucose into hypoglycemic mice triggered more extensive neuronal death. The extent of neuronal death correlated with the production of superoxide by a molecule known as NADPH oxidase. As the amount of glucose infused to treat hypoglycemia increased -- the amount of superoxide produced and the extent of neuronal death was increased. This suggests that it might be best to treat individuals in hypoglycemic coma by gradually increasing their blood glucose levels rather than by restoring glucose levels rapidly. When it comes to recuperating from low sugars -- slow and steady, right Mr. Turtle?
1. In respect of your comment: ‘… However, because insulin acts to lower blood glucose levels, it can cause hypoglycemia (low levels of glucose in the blood) … researchers … found that in mice, hypoglycemic neuronal death is triggered when the mice are treated with a large amount of glucose and not by the hypoglycemia itself … although hypoglycemia induced some neuronal death, the rapid infusion of glucose into hypoglycemic mice triggered more extensive neuronal death …’
SO… hypoglycemia is caused by > ? > rapid transition from hypoglycemia back to normoglycemia apparently causes damage > so what happens every time a Diabetic corrects a hypo with a quick sugar fix ?; and what is the safest way of ever avoiding a hypo eg as suggested by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration http://www.thediabetesblog.com/2007/03/29/my-friend-jeff-the-trucker/ ??
And why is hyperglycemia such a big issue [assuming obesity is a big red herring]? http://www.thediabetesblog.com/2005/05/18/after-sweet-industry-gift-ada-head-claims-sugar-has-nothing-to/
REPEAT why is hyperglycemia such a big issue ?
OR why is the diagnosis of hyperglycemia such a big issue ?
AND/OR why is the diagnosis and treatment of hyperglycemia such a big issue ?
Transient supernormal glycaemia ‘TSG’ occurs in every Human Being as a healthy and natural response to acute stress [‘adaptive medicine’] … distributing glucose to nerve cells [without insulin receptors] and preventing ‘hypos’ [the real concern] … and may well increase HgA1c … so what? … when glucose levels surge up for a transient period [and then down again] an above average HgA1c can just as easily be viewed as a marker for a very healthy ‘stress adapted’ Human Being who has the benefit of being ‘insulin-conservative’ [ie a criteria for being labelled a ‘type 1 Diabetic’] which protects INTRAcellular components of cells [with insulin receptors], from eg glycation of DNA, during periods of chronic stress.
http://www.DrFuhrman.com
“…After World War I, when insulin was first discovered, the medical profession thought diabetes would be totally curable as a medical problem. Diabetes was believed to be due to insulin deficiency, and everyone thought that since insulin would now be given to patients there would be no more problems. It seemed this way for a few years, but terrible things started happening to patients with diabetes who were given insulin to control their blood sugar levels. They developed eye disease, kidney disease, and, most important, accelerating atherosclerosis leading to blood vessel disease and early heart attacks. Their problems were worse than ever. Decades later, when the insulin assay became available and doctors were able to measure insulin levels in their patients’ bloodstreams, they found most interesting results: the insulin levels of type 1 (childhood-onset) diabetics were indeed low, but the levels in type 2 (adult-onset) diabetics were not only not low, but also were higher than those of people without diabetes. It became clear that type 2 diabetes is a disease of insulin resistance, not insulin deficiency. Type 2 diabetics produce plenty of insulin … I can only view today’s treatment of diabetic patients as malpractice…”
(1995) Dr Joel Fuhrman [a board-certified Family Physician practising in Belle Mead, New Jersey who specialises in preventing and reversing chronic conditions of high blood sugar; Dr Fuhrman is an active staff member of Hunterdon Medical Centre and provides nutritionally oriented medical care to Patients as well as nutritional education to other Physicians; Author of “Fasting and Eating for Health” ‘A Medical Doctor’s Program for Conquering Disease’].
Warm thanks, Nicholas Dynes Gracey, BSc(Hons) Medical Biochemistry, Birmingham University, UK c/o www.TheDiabetesBlog.com @ 18:55hrs TUE.10.APR.2007.
Posted at 2:00PM on Apr 10th 2007 by Nicholas Dynes Gracey