hypoglycaemia

Question 1

what is Whipple triad?

Answer 1

symptoms you get with insulinoma:

• signs and symptoms of hypoglycaemia
• plasma glucose <2.5
• reversibility of symptoms on administration of glucose
• c peptide levels will not fall when administering insulin
• insulin is stored in the beta cells of the pancreas as proinsulin. it breaks down to insulin and C-peptide when there is high blood glucose and the body needs to secrete insulin
• if there is too much insulin there will be a negative feedback mechanism which will reduce the amount of proinsulin being cleaved in the B cells, therefore peptide C levels will be reduced
• if there is an ectopic source of insulin- e.g. insulinoma then peptide levels will not fall when insulin is administered