Effects of ketosis on glucose flux in children and adults.

Sequential glucose flux studies were carried out in five normal and six epileptic children and ten adult volunteers using [6,6-2H2]glucose to determine the effect of ketosis on carbohydrate homeostasis in children and adults. All subjects were studied after 14 and 30-38 h of fasting while consuming a normal diet and the epileptic children under 14 h of fasting while consuming an isocaloric ketogenic diet (75% fat wt/wt). Glucose flux, when expressed per kilogram body weight, was inversely correlated with the degree of ketosis in children (P less than 0.001) and in adults (P less than 0.01), but not when both children and adults were considered together (r = 0.078). When glucose flux was corrected for estimated brain weight, the relationship between glucose flux and ketonemia was linearly related in children (P less than 0.001), in adults (P less than 0.02), and when all subjects were considered together (P less than 0.001). The inverse relationship between ketonemia and glucose flux corrected for estimated brain mass is consistent with a partial replacement of glucose by ketone bodies for cerebral metabolism and may provide a more rational means of expressing glucose flux data to take into account the higher brain-to-body ratio in children.