Somogyi Phenomenon

Excerpt

The Somogyi effect, also known as the "chronic Somogyi rebound" or "posthypoglycemic hyperglycemia," was a theory proposed in the 1930s by Dr. Michael Somogyi, a Hungarian-born professor at Washington University, St. Louis, MO, United States. He described the paradoxical tendency of the body to react to hypoglycemia by producing hyperglycemia. Somogyi proposed that when blood glucose levels drop too low during the late evening, activation of counterregulatory hormones such as adrenaline, corticosteroids, growth hormone, and glucagon may be observed, leading to activation of gluconeogenesis and resultant hyperglycemia in the early morning.