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Does lactate sustain brain metabolism during hypoglycaemia?

At very low glucose levels, the cognitive function of patients with diabetes mellitus and recurrent iatrogenic hypoglycaemia is often better than that of hypoglycaemia-naive individuals. A new study shows that the brain adapts to recurrent hypoglycaemia by increasing uptake of glucose and lactate, with preferential shuttling of glucose to neurons.

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Correspondence to Elizabeth R. Seaquist.

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Seaquist, E., Öz, G. Does lactate sustain brain metabolism during hypoglycaemia?. Nat Rev Endocrinol 9, 386–387 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1038/nrendo.2013.104

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