Glucose in blood

[akimhaneul]

1) why is it bad to have too much glucose in blood?

2) it's necessary to always have some glucose in blood so that cells in our body can always take them up when they need energy right? Even when there is no insulin? I'm guessing all cells take up glucose at least at some level all the time using GLut transporter?


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[bananafish94]

1. Too much glucose for too long a period of time can lead to all sorts of nasty things...neuropathies, retinopathy, and of course ketoacidosis in acute situations. The pathophysiology is pretty complicated.

2. Yes, more or less. Remember that each tissue uses different things for energy. The brain, for instance, pretty much exclusively uses glucose except in starvation.

 

[Lawpy]

1) Because the body works best under normal, physiological levels. Having too much or too little of anything will lead to problems. A slight change from normal values can be automatically corrected for by homeostatic mechanisms, but a significant change requires medical intervention. Glucose is a polar molecule and requires transporters to enter the cell for uptake. Transporters have a limit on how much glucose they can transport and once the limit is reached, the transporters become saturated, leaving excess glucose in the blood. High blood glucose levels, or hyperglycemia, can increase the blood osmolarity. The combination of hyperglycemia and hyperosmolarity can lead to a lot of problems, especially neurological problems since the brain is especially sensitive to glucose levels, and the added increased osmotic pressures can damage the neurons. See more here: Hyperosmolar Hyperglycemic State: Background, Pathophysiology, Etiology

2) Normal levels of glucose are needed because some organs, like the brain, rely heavily/exclusively on glucose. A slight decline can be accounted for but a significant decline will lead to problems. The brain can use ketone bodies (produced from breakdown of fatty acids and some amino acids) as alternative fuels in cases of starvation. In normal conditions, hypoglycemia is seen with high ketone body levels (called ketosis) and absence of ketosis in hypoglycemia means something else is going on (like too much insulin in the blood, since insulin inhibits fatty acid breakdown). Generally, ketosis is controlled for in normal conditions but high ketone body levels can make the blood acidic (in a medical condition called ketoacidosis).

The underlying theme is that normal, physiological conditions are required for healthy living. Everything vital for survival (like glucose, amino acids, ions etc.) should be kept under tightly controlled moderate levels via homeostasis. Too much or too little of anything will lead to problems if left uncorrected.

 

[JustinM88]

1) why is it bad to have too much glucose in blood?

One thing I remember is that if there's too much glucose it can lead to glycation of proteins (glycation is kinda like bad version of glycosylation from what i remember). For example, glucose could glycate some protein in your eye and lead to blindness.