Symptoms of Hypoglycaemia

Abstract

Hypoglycaemia is common in clinical practice for people with diabetes. However, the symptoms can vary between individuals and at different stages of their condition. Moreover, several factors influence symptoms experienced by people with diabetes, and many are amenable to intervention. Symptoms are commonly neuroglycopenic or neurogenic in aetiology, and these lead to different clusters of symptoms. Certain patient groups such as the elderly and pregnant women are particularly susceptible to hypoglycaemia. In this chapter, we describe the physiology and pathophysiology behind the symptoms of hypoglycaemia, with reference to current knowledge from neuroimaging studies, and outline potential interventions to modify or restore hypoglycaemia symptoms.