Editing Counterregulatory hormone (section)

== Glucose Counterregulation ==

The action of [[insulin]] is counterregulated by [[glucagon]], epinephrine ([[adrenaline]]), norepinephrine ([[noradrenaline]]), [[cortisol]], and [[growth hormone]]. These counterregulatory hormones—the term is usually used in the plural—raise the level of [[glucose]] in the blood by promoting [[glycogenolysis]], [[gluconeogenesis]], [[ketogenesis]], and other [[catabolic]] processes.<ref>{{cite journal | doi=10.1152/ajpregu.00531.2011| pmid=22071156 | title=The physiology and pathophysiology of the neural control of the counterregulatory response| journal=AJP: Regulatory, Integrative and Comparative Physiology| volume=302| issue=2| pages=R215-23| year=2011| last1=Beall| first1=C.| last2=Ashford| first2=M. L.| last3=McCrimmon| first3=R. J.}}</ref> In healthy people, counterregulatory hormones constitute a principal defense against [[hypoglycemia]], and levels are expected to rise as the glucose falls.

As an example, the exercise-induced reduction in blood glucose is '''counterregulated''' by increases in levels of epinephrine, norepinephrine, cortisol, and growth hormone. The rise in blood concentrations of these '''counterregulatory hormones''' is dependent upon both [[exercise intensity]] and duration, and is proportional to the rate of glucose uptake by the contracting [[skeletal muscle]].