Blood sugar regulation in a diabetic patient is done by
Injecting prescribed quantity of hormone insulin after definite time intervals.
Consuming prescribed amount of sugars.
Injecting glucagon to maintain blood sugar level if alpha cells of the pancreas are also non-functional.
Explanation:
The concentration of sugar in the blood is regulated by the hormone, insulin, produced in the pancreatic beta cells in normal person and injected from outside in a diabetic person.
When the concentration of glucose in the blood is high, the insulin signals the hepatocytes to express their glucose transporters to take up the excess glucose from blood and convert them to glycogen.
When concentration of sugar in the blood is low, another hormone called glucagon, released from the alpha cells of the pancreas, signals the liver to carry out glycogenolysis (breakdown of glycogen to glucose) and release the glucose into the blood. This would maintain the glucose level in the blood.
In a diabetic patient, usually the beta cells of the pancreas are affected but not the alpha cells, so the glycogenolysis can occur in the body spontaneously.
But excess injection of insulin should also be avoided as that can cause the blood sugar level to come down below normal.
