Chapter 12 – Glucose Modelling

Publisher Summary This chapter presents a survey, deliberately synthetic and not intended to be exhaustive, of models that describe the glucose system and the control exerted by insulin on glucose production and utilisation. This chapter is complementary to Chapter 11 that discusses models developed to study the insulin system and the control exerted by glucose on insulin secretion. The glucose production and utilisation fluxes, with the control signals exerted by insulin and glucose on these fluxes, are represented. The chapter aims at presenting the main features of the models that are used to quantitate glucose kinetics both at the wholebody and regional (organ/tissue) level and under steady- and nonsteady state conditions. In addition, some examples of models allowing the estimation of indexes of clinical relevance are also presented. Finally, there is a discussion about the use of simulation models both to gain insight into the functioning of the glucose system and to aid in the optimisation of diabetes therapy.