[Role of carbohydrate metabolism in the pathogenesis of hypoxia in stroke].

During the first 24 hours of the disease, 34 (62.2%) of 58 patients with ischemic stroke exhibited hyperglycemia. Of these, 5 patients suffered from diabetes mellitus. Hyperglycemia persisted from several hours to 16 days and was more frequent in patients with an unfavourable outcome of the stroke. A number of factors were found to be involved in the genesis of hyperglycemia including activation of the sympathoadrenal and pituitary-adrenal systems, functional insufficiency of the insular apparatus of the pancreas and a decrease in the sensitivity of the receptor apparatus of the cells to insulin. Patients with hyperglycemia displayed an elevation in the level of glycosylized hemoglobin up to 10.3%. The course of stroke in these patients was more severe, often with the lethal outcome. The authors proved that the oxygen transport properties of hemoglobin may be impaired due to its glycosylization and determined the role of the hyperglycemic factor in the pathogenesis of hypoxia.