Research Round Up

Research Round Up - hypoglycemia in the older population, effects of hypoglycemia on the brain and cognitive function, and economic impact of hypoglycemia

Nicole Meinel of the Diabetic Hypoglycemia Editorial Team

Diabetic Hypoglycemia January 2010, Volume 2, Issue 3: page 12-16

Impaired awareness of hypoglycemia in older people with type 2 diabetes

Hypoglycemia awareness may be reduced in older people. Bremer et al suggest that in people with type 2 diabetes, subjective unawareness of hypoglycemia does not depend upon altered neuroendocrine counter-regulation, and may contribute to the increased risk of severe hypoglycemia in older people with diabetes.

The authors investigated hormonal, symptomatic, and cognitive responses to hypoglycemia using a glucose clamp (blood glucose 2.8 mmol/l for 30 minutes) in 13 people with type 2 diabetes aged 65 or more, and in 13 people with type 2 diabetes aged between 39 and 64 years. They observed no differences in the counter-regulatory hormonal responses to hypoglycemia between the two groups.