Hypoglycemia

hypoglycemia, reduction of the concentration of glucose in the blood below normal levels, commonly occurring as a complication of treatment for diabetes mellitus. In healthy individuals an intricate glucoregulatory system acts rapidly to counter hypoglycemia by reducing insulin production (insulin is important in the mechanism that removes glucose from the bloodstream) and mobilizing energy reserves from the fat and liver. When this regulatory system does not operate, disproportionately large amounts of insulin in the blood result in sudden drastic falls in circulating glucose.

The manifestations of hypoglycemia evolve in a characteristic pattern. Mild hypoglycemia—for example, blood glucose concentrations less than 55 mg per 100 ml (3 mmol/l)—causes hunger, fatigue, tremour, rapid pulse, and anxiety. These symptoms are known as sympathoadrenal symptoms because they are caused by activation of the sympathetic nervous system, including the adrenal medulla. Activation of the sympathetic nervous system increases blood glucose concentrations by mobilizing liver glycogen, which is the principal storage form of carbohydrate in liver and muscle. More severe hypoglycemia—for example, blood glucose concentrations less than 45 mg per 100 ml (2.5 mmol/l)—causes blurred vision, impaired thinking and consciousness, confusion, seizures, and coma. These symptoms are known as neuroglycopenic symptoms because they are indicative of glucose deprivation in the brain. Sympathoadrenal symptoms and neuroglycopenic symptoms are nonspecific and should be attributed to hypoglycemia only when relieved by either oral or intravenous administration of glucose.

The principal causes of hypoglycemia can be grouped into two categories: insulin-dependent and insulin-independent. Insulin-dependent hypoglycemia is caused by too much insulin (hyperinsulinemia), usually attributed to the intake of a sulfonylurea drug or to the presence of excess insulin in a patient with diabetes. Other, much less common causes of insulin-dependent hypoglycemia may include an insulin-secreting tumour of the islets of Langerhans or a tumour, usually of fibrous tissue, that secretes insulin-like growth factor 2 (IGF-2), which activates insulin receptors. Insulin-independent hypoglycemia is caused by disorders that result in impaired glucose mobilization during fasting (defects in gluconeogenesis or glycogenolysis). Impaired glucose mobilization may be caused by adrenal insufficiency, severe liver disease, glycogen storage disease, severe infections, and starvation. Insulin-dependent hypoglycemia is diagnosed by an inappropriately high serum insulin concentration when symptoms of hypoglycemia are present. Conversely, insulin-independent hypoglycemia is diagnosed by an inappropriately low serum insulin concentration when symptoms of hypoglycemia are present.

Many people have hypoglycemia-like symptoms three to five hours after a meal. However, few of these people have hypoglycemia when symptomatic, and their symptoms may not improve with the administration of glucose. Symptoms can often be controlled by eating small snacks every few hours, exercising regularly, and managing weight. A known cause of post-meal hypoglycemia is gastrectomy (removal of the stomach) or gastric bypass surgery for obesity, which results in rapid absorption of glucose into the blood, thereby triggering excessive insulin secretion and hypoglycemia.