Does acute hyperglycemia produce transient improvement in glucose transporter type 1 deficiency?
This study documents transient neurological improvement in Glut1-DS patients following acute hyperglycemia, associated with improved fine motor coordination and attention. Also, systemic carbohydrate homeostasis was normal, despite GLUT1 haploinsufficiency, confirming the specific role of GLUT1 as the transporter of metabolic fuel across the blood-brain barrier. The transient improvement in brain function underscores the rate-limiting role of glucose transport and the critical minute-to-minute dependence of cerebral function on fuel availability for energy metabolism.
Hepatitis C virus may induce insulin resistance irrespective of the severity of liver disease, and this effect seems to be genotype specific. Further, our findings support the hypothesis that insulin resistance may contribute to fibrotic progression in chronic hepatitis C virus infection.