In a patient with insulinoma, what is the typical response following glucose administration?

In a patient with insulinoma, a tumor of the pancreas that secretes insulin independently of blood glucose levels, administration of glucose typically results in a rapid normalization of blood sugar levels. Insulinoma causes episodic episodes of hypoglycemia due to excess insulin secretion, which leads to low blood sugar levels. When glucose is given, it provides a necessary substrate that suppresses the inappropriate insulin release quickly, thereby raising blood sugar levels promptly.

This rapid response is characteristic of insulinoma because the insulin levels drop in response to the influx of glucose, which counteracts the effects of the excess insulin that caused the hypoglycemia in the first place. Hence, the blood glucose levels return to normal levels swiftly, alleviating the hypoglycemic symptoms that the patient was experiencing.

Other options suggest responses that are not typical for insulinoma. Increased hypoglycemic symptoms would imply a continued adverse reaction to low blood sugar, which is not the case post-glucose administration. Prolonged hyperglycemia does not occur because the underlying activity of the tumor does not sustain elevated glucose levels in the face of administered glucose. Delayed recovery from hypoglycemia is also not consistent, as the response should be prompt upon glucose administration due to the regulatory effects of the body’s