115-OR: Epinephrine Contributes to Hypoglycemia-Associated Autonomic Failure (HAAF)

Recurrent hypoglycemia leads to HAAF, with blunted counterregulatory hormone responses to subsequent hypoglycemic episodes. A recent report suggested inter-individual differences in susceptibility to HAAF (JCEM 102:3571, 2017). Since adrenergic receptor blockade prevents HAAF (Diabetes 60:602, 2011), we investigated to what extent the rises in plasma epinephrine (EPI) associated with hypoglycemia predict the development of HAAF. Healthy non-diabetic subjects (n=18, age 43±2years, BMI 25±1 kg/m2) underwent two 2-hour hypoglycemic clamp studies (nadir 54mg/dl; 0-2h and 4-6 h) on Day 1 followed by a third 2-hour hypoglycemic clamp on Day 2. Twelve subjects (67%) developed HAAF by the third episode, as defined by at least 20% reductions in peak EPI levels (peak EPI 1st vs. 3rd episode: HAAF subjects 1072±156 vs. 530±87pg/ml, p To specifically define the role of EPI in the pathogenesis of HAAF, we challenged an additional seven non-diabetic subjects (age 32±4 years, BMI 25±1 kg/m2) with two 2-hour infusions of EPI (0.03 μg/kg/min;0-2h and 4-6 h) on Day 1 followed by 200-minute stepped hypoglycemic clamps (90, 80, 70 and 60 mg/dl, each for 50 minutes) on Day 2. Compared to saline, EPI infusion on Day 1 induced 40% and 28% reductions in epinephrine response to hypoglycemia at the 70 and 60 mg/dl glucose steps on Day 2, respectively (all p Thus, rises in EPI similar to those seen with hypoglycemia reproduce key features of HAAF in non-diabetic subjects. Marked inter-individual variability in EPI levels in response to hypoglycemia may explain why some people are more prone to develop HAAF. Disclosure E. Lontchi Yimagou: None. S. Aleksic: None. L. Upadhyay: None. S. Sharma: None. M. Carey: None. A. Goyal: None. J. You: None. R. Hulkower: None. S. Murthi: None. W.G. Mitchell: None. H. Shamoon: None. M. Hawkins: Other Relationship; Self; Novo Nordisk Inc. Funding American Diabetes Association (1-18-PMF-024 to E.L.Y.); National Institutes of Health (R01DK079974)