Hypoglycemia occurs when blood sugar (or blood glucose) concentrations fall below a level necessary to properly support the body's need for energy and stability throughout its cells.
In healthy individuals an intricate glucoregulatory system acts rapidly to counter hypoglycemia by reducing insulin production (insulin is important in the mechanism that removes glucose from the bloodstream) and mobilizing energy reserves from the fat and liver. When this regulatory system does not operate, disproportionately large amounts of insulin in the blood result in sudden drastic falls in circulating glucose.
Drug-induced hypoglycemia, a complication of diabetes, is the most commonly seen and most dangerous form of hypoglycemia.
