Epinephrine is not critical to prevention of hypoglycemia during exercise in humans

Abstract

We documented stability of plasma glucose concentrations and glucose production and utilization rates, and levels of other metabolic substrates and regulatory factors, during the islet clamp (somatostatin infusion with glucagon and insulin replacement) in the absence of an intervention in five normal humans and further applied this technique to the study of glucoregulation during moderate exercise. Based on previous evidence that sympathochromaffin activation plays a primary role in the prevention of hypoglycemia during exercise, the role of adrenomedullary catecholamines was assessed by exercise (60% of maximum oxygen consumption for 60 min) studies in four bilaterally adrenalectomized, epinephrine-deficient humans under two conditions: control (saline infusion) and islet clamp. Increased glucose utilization and production rates were matched and plasma glucose was unchanged during exercise under both conditions. Thus adrenomedullary catecholamines including epinephrine are not critical to glucoregulation during moderate exercise in humans even when changes in insulin and glucagon are prevented. These findings provide further support for the suggestion that sympathetic neural norepinephrine is the operative catecholamine in the prevention of hypoglycemia during exercise in humans.