Hyperglycemia is a condition in which an excessive amount of glucose circulates in the blood plasma. This is generally a blood sugar level higher than 11.1 mmol/l (200 mg/dl), but symptoms may not start to become noticeable until even higher values such as 13.9–16.7 mmol/l (~250–300 mg/dl). A subject with a consistent range between ~5.6 and ~7 mmol/l (100–126 mg/dl) (American Diabetes Association guidelines) is considered slightly hyperglycemic, and above 7 mmol/l (126 mg/dl) is generally held to have diabetes. For diabetics, glucose levels that are considered to be too hyperglycemic can vary from person to person, mainly due to the person's renal threshold of glucose and overall glucose tolerance.

Acute hyperglycemia involving glucose levels that are extremely high is a medical emergency and can rapidly produce serious complications (such as fluid loss through osmotic diuresis). It is most often seen in persons who have uncontrolled insulin-dependent diabetes. In untreated hyperglycemia, a condition called ketoacidosis may develop because decreased insulin levels increase the activity of hormone sensitive lipase. The degradation of triacylglycerides by hormone-sensitive lipase produces free fatty acids that are eventually converted to acetyl-coA by beta-oxidation. Ketoacidosis is a life-threatening condition which requires immediate treatment. Symptoms include: shortness of breath, breath that smells fruity (such as pear drops), nausea and vomiting, and very dry mouth. Chronic hyperglycemia (high blood sugar) injures the heart in patients without a history of heart disease or diabetes and is strongly associated with heart attacks and death in subjects with no coronary heart disease or history of heart failure. In addition, it reduces skin graft success, exacerbates brain, spinal cord, and renal damage by ischemia, worsens neurologic outcomes in traumatic head injuries, and is associated with postoperative cognitive dysfunction following CABG. Chronic hyperglycemia that persists even in fasting states is most commonly caused by diabetes mellitus. In fact, chronic hyperglycemia is the defining characteristic of the disease. Intermittent hyperglycemia may be present in prediabetic states. Acute episodes of hyperglycemia without an obvious cause may indicate developing diabetes or a predisposition to the disorder. When the mechanisms fail in a way that allows glucose to rise to abnormal levels, hyperglycemia is the result. Ketoacidosis may be the first symptom of immune-mediated diabetes, particularly in children and adolescents. Also, patients with immune-mediated diabetes, can change from modest fasting hyperglycemia to severe hyperglycemia and even ketoacidosis as a result of stress or an infection.

Manuscripts with relevance to the scope can be submitted to our Email: editor.ecdr@scitechnol.com   or Online Submission Endocrinology

engjournals managjournal engjournals alliedres alliedjournals alliedresearch alliedsciences pulsusjournal peerreviewjournal alliedjournal peerreviewjournal ebusinessjournals biochemjournal scientificres biochemistryjournals scientificres echemistry sciencesinsight scholarresearch echemcentral journalinsights chemistryres imedresearch biochemresearch imedpubjournals scitecjournals longdomjournals imedpubjournal scitechjournal jopenaccess nursingres clinicalmedicaljournal journalinsight nursingres escientificjournals healthcareinsights clinicalmedicaljournal peerreviewedjournal esciencejournal enursingcare nutritionres ehealthjournals peerjournals gastroinsights pediatricsjournals peerjournals oncologyinsights surgeryjournals surgeryinsights pharmajournals peerjournal medicineinsights pharmares peerreviewedjournals medicinaljournals journalsres edentalcentral emedsci dentistryjournals journalsres journalsoa emedicalcentral journalsoa clinicalmedicaljournals medicalres journalsci medicalresjournals imedpublishing journalres emedscience eclinjournals eclinicalsci eclinicaljournals journalres eclinicalinsight scholarcentral journaloa emedicinejournals clinicalres emedicalscience emedicalsci journalpublications neurologyinsights scholarlypub eclinicalsci eclinicalcentral environmentjournals pulsusjournal emedicinejournals escienceopen esciencejournals escientificreviews openaccesspublications jpeerreview escientificres scholarlyjournals eclinicaljournals scholarsresjournal environjournal jpeerres managjournal emedicalhub biomedresj scholarlymed eclinicalres theresearchpub lexisjournal eclinmed medicalsci clinicalinsight tradescience epharmajournal ehealthjournals neurologyinsight emedicalsci molbioljournal enginsights dentistryinsights jscitech peerreviewedjournals oajournal jpeerreview oajournalres scholarres pathologyinsights biochemjournals