[Pathogenesis of ketotic hypoglycemia (author's transl)]

4 children with ketotic hypoglycemia (KH) showed during a fasting period over 24 hours significant higher decreases of serum alanine levels than normal controls. Insulin induced hypoglycemia was followed by only minimal increase of urine epinephrine secretion, while all controls showed more than 6 times higher increases. 2-desoxy-glucose-tests were pathological in all cases with KH. One can speculate, that there is a connection between the reduced availability of alanine and the adrenal medullary hyporesponsiveness. Epinephrine stimulates glycogenolysis in muscle cells. Lack of epinephrine reduces pyruvate production and subsequently alanine synthesis. Alanine however is essential for gluconeogenesis in liver cells especially during starvation. After some days administration of diazoxide the 2-desoxy-glucose-test was normalised in all patients. This observation could probably be of some interest in therapy of KH.