Ketone Bodies (Part 4 of 4) – Diabetes, Starvation, and Ketoacidosis
Moof's Medical Biochemistry Video Course:
In this video, I describe how buildup of Ketone Bodies and their association with Diabetes, Starvation, and Ketoacidosis.
Over-production of ketone bodies is very bad because ketone bodies are acidic. If ketone bodies build up, that’s called Ketosis. If the pH of the blood becomes too acidic, that’s called Acidosis. When ketone bodies build up in the blood, they acidify the blood, causing the pH to drop. A drop in blood pH due to an increased concentration of ketone bodies in the blood is called Ketoacidosis, which is potentially lethal.
During starvation, the body relies heavily on stored fat for energy. Triglycerides are broken down to glycerol and fatty acids, and fatty acids are broken down to Acetyl-CoA molecules via Beta Oxidation. The Acetyl-CoA molecules are supposed to go through the Krebs Cycle, but they do not go through as they would normally because gluconeogenesis is active during starvation. This draws oxaloacetate (OAA) out of the mitochondrial matrix (by way of malate) into the cytosol of the cell. Thus, OAA is not available to combine with Acetyl-CoA in the first step of the Krebs Cycle. So, a great deal of Acetyl-CoA builds up and is diverted to Ketogenesis, producing many ketone bodies at a rapid rate. These ketone bodies are sent in the blood to extrahepatic tissues, but the extrahepatic tissues cannot oxidize the ketone bodies quickly enough to keep up with the supply coming from the blood. Thus, ketone bodies build up in the blood – ketoacidosis.
With Type I Diabetes, patients do not produce enough insulin (or any insulin). So, their cells cannot take up glucose from the blood. Thus, gluconeogenesis is active, doing all of the same things as it does in starvation, yielding the same result, ketoacidosis. Type I Diabetes is sometimes referred to “starvation amongst plenty” because of the way a patient can essentially starve and die from ketoacidosis, even though they’ve got plenty of glucose in their blood; they just can’t use it.
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Thank you so much👏👏👏🙏
What is the level of ketones in the blood during ketoacidosis? I measured once 2.4 on myself is it a danger level?
premed student here and these videos are so helpful, thank you!!
AMAZINGGGGGGGG!!!!!!!!! cannot thank you enough!
one important point was wrong. starvation won’t cause ketoacidosis unless don’t have insulin. Plse emphasise the difference between nutritional ketosis which is very healthy and ketoacidosis which is dangerous. you can survive just fine burning ketones for fuel
Yes, does anyone have a link to a video that focuses on this specifically? I’d like to know more about the bodies ability to live strictly off ketone bodies.
I was thinking the same thing
I am a mature medical student in my fifties. I watch your videos before reading on these subjects and find them very helpful. However, I get the impression that you are addressing to children. Are these for Biochemistry major students, premed students, or first year science students?
+Moof University Thank you for your reply. Yes, it’s not about the age group: My question was about which group of people you target, because I have seen videos that include less information than what is expected at a medical school, one of them being Khan Academy. But your videos are excellent point to start with. When I listen to Biochemistry lectures at our school, I don’t understand. However, you help me a lot in making the subject easier to approach. Thank you for your hard work. I appreciate your videos a lot.
+Summerbreeze There isn’t necessarily a target age group. The videos are meant for anyone studying the content. Often, that includes biochemistry major students and students in different health professional schools (i.e. medical school, pharmacy school, etc).
In ketoacidosis co2 level increases it is which causes hyperventilation to eliminate or it is the compensation for acidosis please reply
Such as difficult process to get grasp of. Books and journals make it hard to understand even the basics. Thanks, this video has made it much clearer to understand and I am able to link it within my assignment
Thank you so much sir . Your video was very helpful
It definitely WAS helpful!!!!
Thank you !! really helpful
Perfect explanation
Thanks!
Great .. so helpful .. keep it up
PERFECT.
Great video.
Thank you. Keep it up.,
Thx for this video. If I watch you video, it seems a normal reaction to get starvation ketoacidosis when doing a prolonged fast. But that is often not the case. When you search on youtube there are lots of videos of people water fasting for 40 days and survive just fine. Is there something that is missing to this story of starvation ketoacidosis? There is one case on the internet of a woman lactating and getting starvation ketoacidosis, but this seems an incident. Is there something you can add/explain that healthy people don’t seem to get starvation ketoacidosis?
So much clearification I have got thnx
Awesome video! I appreciate all your hard work 🙂
Great job, thanks a bunch. 😉
+Nexus2Eden Sure thing! :]