Henk M. De Feyter1,
Graeme F. Mason2, Gerald I. Shulman3, Douglas L.
Rothman1, Kitt Falk Petersen4
1Diagnostic
Radiology, Yale University, New Haven, CT, United States; 2Dept.
of Psychiatry, Yale University, New Haven, CT, United States; 3Howard
Hughes Medical Institute, Yale University, New Haven, CT, United States; 4Internal
Medicine, Yale University, New Haven, CT, United States
Previous 13C MRS studies have lead to the hypothesis that upregulation of blood-brain barrier monocarboxylic acid (MCA) transport may contribute to maintenance of brain energetics during hypoglycemia in subjects with hypoglycemia unawareness. We examined transport and metabolism of [3-13C]-lactate in brain of type 1 diabetic patients with hypoglycemia unawareness and non-diabetic control subjects during a hypoglycemic clamp using 13C MRS. We found that brain lactate concentrations were markedly increased in type 1 diabetic subjects. Surprisingly we observed no increased oxidation of blood-borne lactate in the type 1 diabetic subjects suggesting that other metabolic adaptations may contribute to hypoglycemia unawareness.
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