Glucagon & Type 1 Diabetes (with Jon Furniss) – Zoë Harcombe
Executive summary
* World Diabetes Day is on 14th November each year. To mark this, today’s note contains a podcast exploring all things Type 1 Diabetes (T1D) and a note specifically focusing on glucagon (Video at the end of this post).
* We think of T1D as an insulin deficiency problem (and it is), but is the concomitant consequence for glucagon caused by the lack of insulin just as important to consider?
* This note covers the equal and opposite actions of insulin and glucagon, the conundrum for T1Ds in their approach to insulin and blood glucose regulation, and a very thought provoking lecture about glucagon.
* Glucagon is the consistent factor in diabetes. It is high in every form of diabetes (1 and 2) in dogs, rats and humans. The same cannot be said for insulin.
* Would the suppression of glucagon be an equally valid approach to T1D management? Has our insulin centric approach to diabetes led us to miss this?
