I constantly battle with high glucose levels (140-160) despite having none of the 'typical' habits usually associated with it and very little to no sugar or carbs in my diet. Realizing there are so many other reasons this could be besides diet, I found reading about Cortisol and how it works very compelling. One description likened it as such: The way Testosterone is instrumental in building muscle, Cortisol is instrumental in breaking down muscle. That being said, it there a correlation between the muscle atrophy process associated with KD and the body's release of Cortisol? I know there is a high percent of KD sufferers (myself included) that show elevated liver enzymes (and Fatty Liver Disease) related to KD so I was wondering if elevated glucose levels could also be a 'byproduct'. Again, I realize there a tons of other reasons, genetic pre-disposition notwithstanding, that could affect this. I'm curious if there's any info on Cortisol.

Mike, a good question. My level ranged from 88-102 over the last five years with March's number being 101. My doctor isn't concerned about it because normal is 80-99.

It will be interesting to see what others are experiencing.

Mike, interesting thought. I have had borderline high (100-101) glucose levels all my life. More than 30 years. I used to be very concerned that I would hit the diabetic range but never have. What's interesting is that my diet has had little affect on my glucose levels. For many years I didn't consume hardly any sugar or carb foods and exercised regularly and still hit 101. The last few years I have eaten a lot of sugar and carbs foods and I was just tested and the Glucose level was 98. Maybe high glucose is related to KD. Not sure.

The following study, of which our friend Maria Pennuto is one of the co-authors, looked at a sample of 73 men in Italy with SBMA. They found that 41% of the men with SBMA had glucose above the upper limit of the reference range. The study is interesting reading and not terribly technical.
http://jnnp.bmj.com/content/ea...14-9047-84fd5e49d918
Search on the word "glucose" to get right to the information on high blood sugar.

For a rough comparison to the 41% number in the study, according to the CDC in the U.S. population as a whole about 9.3% of the adults have diagnosed or undiagnosed diabetes, and in the population over 65 about 25.9% have diagnosed or undiagnosed diabetes.

Due to differences in age, national origin, etc., it isn't possible to say that the 41% number in the Italian SBMA men can be compared directly to the the 9.3% and 25.9% numbers from the U.S. population. The authors of the study concluded:

quote:

Our patients with SBMA frequently had elevated total cholesterol, triglycerides and fasting glucose, underlying a partial metabolic syndrome. Given the age range of our patients, we cannot establish to what extent androgen insensitivity rather than age per se contributes to these metabolic abnormalities.

Still, I think the 41% number is a clue that we should be watching our lipid numbers. For my part, I have high triglycerides, but not the other two. Eating less, avoiding sugar, and getting exercise all help reduce it.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Dan B,

Dan, I keep on getting a content not found message when I click on the link.

I found it with a search of Maria's papers.
http://jnnp.bmj.com/content/ea...14-9047-84fd5e49d918

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Bruce,

I've also had modestly high glucose level for decades. I've had an issue with very frequent urination, a typical symptom of diabetes, which prompted monitoring. But with all of the testing, I'm increasingly confident my risk of developing diabetes is small.

My norepinephrine level has been found to frequently be very high, although when placed in a quiet soothing environment for an hour and retested my level drops quite fast. Norepinephrine is a stress hormone and is fundamental in producing the fight/flight response, and gives one a surge of elevated physical performance though at some cost to the rest of the body. I believe this to be due to an undiagnosed/unnamed issue separate from Kennedy's, although I believe the two conditions amplify each other.

I bring up my atypical elevated norepinephrine response because it is associated with my tendency to elevated glucose levels and perhaps others with KD and glucose issues might find it worth looking into.

Thanks, Bruce, I fixed the link in my post.