Regulation of Glucose Homeostasis by Glucocorticoids.
Level 5 - mechanism / opinion, no new human data
Narrative review describing physiological mechanisms without primary empirical data or systematic search.
PubMed 26215992 · doi:10.1007/978-1-4939-2895-8_5
What was done
This review summarizes the physiological mechanisms by which glucocorticoids regulate mammalian glucose homeostasis across the liver, skeletal muscle, white adipose tissue, and pancreatic alpha and beta cells.
What was found
The abstract provides a qualitative summary without numerical data. Glucocorticoids stimulate hepatic gluconeogenesis and glycogen storage, decrease peripheral glucose uptake and utilization in skeletal muscle and white adipose tissue by antagonizing insulin, alter muscle glycogen synthesis and catecholamine-induced glycogenolysis, and modulate pancreatic secretion of insulin and glucagon to elevate blood glucose.
Why it matters
It outlines how glucocorticoid excess causes insulin resistance and hyperglycemia, contextualizing these actions as an adaptive evolutionary mechanism to prioritize glucose supply for the brain during stress.
Limits
As a narrative review, it presents no primary data, quantitative effect estimates, sample sizes, or systematic search criteria. Abstract contains no specific human clinical metrics.