Carbohydrate Metabolism, Blood Glucose Regulation, and Clinical Faculty

Vocabulary flashcards covering carbohydrate metabolism, liver glucostatic function, hormonal regulation of blood glucose, organ basal glucose uptake, glycolysis, and physician consultation details.

Postprandial Hyperglycemia

The temporary rise in blood glucose concentration following a meal, which typically returns to normal levels by about two hours after eating.

Glucostatic Function of Liver

The intrinsic capacity of the liver to maintain normal blood glucose concentration and glucose pool despite postprandial hyperglycemic tendencies or fasting/starvation hypoglycemic tendencies.

Insulin

A hormone secreted by pancreatic $\beta\text{-cells}$ in response to postprandial hyperglycemia that reduces blood glucose by promoting glycogenesis, lipogenesis, glycolysis, and pyruvate oxidation, while inhibiting glycogenolysis and gluconeogenesis.

Glucagon

A counter-regulatory hormone released from pancreatic $\alpha\text{-cells}$ during hypoglycemia that elevates blood glucose by stimulating hepatic glycogenolysis and gluconeogenesis while inhibiting glycogenesis.

Glucocorticoids (Cortisol)

Hormones that increase blood glucose levels by stimulating hepatic gluconeogenesis, inducing endogenous proteolysis and lipolysis to provide substrates (amino acids and glycerol), and reducing peripheral glucose uptake.

Cerebral Dehydration (in Hyperglycemia)

The loss of water from neurons leading to impaired brain function and coma, caused when elevated blood glucose increases extracellular fluid (ECF) osmotic pressure above intracellular fluid (ICF) osmotic pressure.

Neuronal Glucose Uptake

Glucose entry into neurons via facilitated diffusion that is not stimulated by insulin, relying entirely on the concentration gradient between the blood and neurons.

Basal Glucose Uptake of Brain

The resting glucose utilization by the brain, amounting to $125\text{--}150\,\text{g/day}$, which constitutes $60\%$ of total body glucose consumption.

Basal Glucose Uptake of RBC

The resting glucose utilization by red blood cells, totaling $50\,\text{g/day}$ ($20\%$ of total body glucose use), representing an absolute ($100\%$) fuel requirement.

Metabolic Fates of Ingested Carbohydrate

The disposal proportions of ingested carbohydrates under normal conditions: $50\text{--}60\%$ is oxidized, $30\text{--}40\%$ is converted to fat, and about $5\text{--}10\%$ is stored as glycogen.

Glycolysis (Embden-Meyerhof pathway)

A catabolic cytoplasmic pathway occurring in all cells that breaks down glucose into pyruvate (aerobic state) or lactate (anaerobic state), producing $07\text{ ATP}$ or $02\text{ ATP}$ respectively.

Phosphofructokinase-1 (PFK-1)

The rate-limiting enzyme of glycolysis that catalyzes the irreversible phosphorylation of fructose 6-P to fructose 1,6-BP using ATP; it is stimulated by insulin, ADP, and AMP, and inhibited by glucagon and ATP.

Glucokinase

An enzyme present exclusively in the liver and pancreatic beta cells that phosphorylates glucose to glucose 6-P using ATP, is induced by insulin, and traps glucose inside the cell.

Hexokinase

An enzyme widely distributed across almost all tissues that phosphorylates glucose to glucose 6-P with ATP utilization to trap glucose intracellularly.

Dr. Nazmul Haider Chowdhury (Sonet)

An Assistant Professor, Pediatric Urologist, and General, Endo-Laparoscopic Pediatric Surgeon (MBBS, MS in Pediatric Surgery) and consultant at the AMZ Hypospadias Center.

AMZ Hospital Ltd.

A hospital facility situated at Pragati Sarani, North Badda, Dhaka-1212 (hotline: 10699), offering specialized pediatric surgery consultations on Saturday, Monday, and Wednesday from 05:00 PM to 07:00 PM.