Facilitated transport of glucose from blood to brain in man and the effect of moderate hypoglycaemia on cerebral glucose utilization

✍ Scribed by Gunnar Blomqvist; Albert Gjedde; Mark Gutniak; Valdemar Grill; Lennart Widén; Sharon Stone-Elander; Eric Hellstrand

• Publisher: Springer
• Year: 1991
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 336 KB
• Volume: 18
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0340-6997
• DOI: 10.1007/bf00175064

✦ Synopsis

The effect of steady-state moderate hypoglycaemia on human brain homeostasis has been studied with positron emission tomography using [U-11C]-Dglucose as tracer. To rule out any effects of insulin, the plasma insulin concentration was maintained at the same level under normo-and hypoglycaemic conditions. Reduction of blood glucose by 55% increased the glucose clearance through the blood-brain barrier by 50% and reduced brain glucose consumption by 40%. Blood flow was not affected. The results are consistent with facilitated transport of glucose from blood to brain in humans. The maximal transport rate of glucose from blood to brain was found to be 62_ 19 (mean+_ SEM) gmol hg-a rain-1, and the half-saturation constant was found to be 4.1 ___2.3 mM.