Hyperinsulinism (source code)

= Hyperinsulinism

<Hyperinsulinism> is excessive or inappropriately sustained <insulin> action or secretion for the metabolic context. In hyperinsulinaemic <hypoglycaemia>, insulin secretion is insufficiently suppressed as blood <glucose> falls. Insulin promotes glucose utilization and storage while restraining endogenous glucose production, so the combination can lower the circulating glucose supply. <Familial Hyperinsulinism Caused by an Activating Glucokinase Mutation by Benjamin Glaser and others>[1998, familial mutation, increased glucokinase activity and altered glucose sensing]{ref}

The activating <glucokinase> mutation provides a mechanistic example: changing the beta-cell glucose-sensing system shifts the conditions under which insulin is released. A measured insulin concentration must therefore be interpreted alongside the simultaneous glucose state. A concentration that is unremarkable after a meal can be inappropriate during hypoglycaemia; a single universal numerical cutoff does not describe the whole mechanism.