Low-Carbohydrate Diet Impairs the Effect of Glucagon in the Treatment of Insulin-Induced Mild Hypoglycemia: A Randomized Crossover Study

Ajenthen Ranjan, Signe Schmidt, Camilla Damm-Frydenberg, Isabelle Steineck, Trine Ryberg Clausen, Jens Juul Holst, Sten Madsbad, Kirsten Nørgaard

35 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

OBJECTIVE This study compared the ability of glucagon to restore plasmaglucose (PG) after mild hypoglycemia in patients with type 1 diabetes on an isocaloric high-carbohydrate diet (HCD) versus a low-carbohydrate diet (LCD). RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS Ten patients with insulin pump-treated type 1 diabetes randomly completed 1 week of the HCD (≥250 g/day) and 1 week of the LCD (≤50 g/day). After each week, mild hypoglycemia was induced by a subcutaneous insulin bolus in the fasting state. When PG reached 3.9 mmol/L, 100 mg glucagon was given subcutaneously, followed by 500 mg glucagon 2 h later. RESULTS Compared with the HCD, the LCD resulted in lower incremental rises in PG after the first (mean 6 SEM: 1.3 ± 0.3 vs. 2.7 ± 0.4 mmol/L, P = 0.002) and second glucagon bolus (4.1 ± 0.2 vs. 5.6 ± 0.5 mmol/L, P = 0.002). No differences were observed between the diets regarding concentrations of insulin, glucagon, and triglycerides. CONCLUSIONS The LCD reduces the treatment effect of glucagon on mild hypoglycemia. Carbohydrate intake should be considered when low-dose glucagon is used to correct hypoglycemia.

Original languageEnglish
JournalDiabetes Care
Volume40
Issue number1
Pages (from-to)132-135
Number of pages4
ISSN1935-5548
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Jan 2017

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