Ketoacidosis

[jgalt42]

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What are some things that happen when your blood becomes too acidic due to ketoacidosis?

 

[Charles_Carmichael]

Depending on how low the pH becomes and what the cause is (respiratory or metabolic), the symptoms may vary. The ones I heard most often in biochem and physiology were arrhythmias, loss of consciousness, coma, even death. There's most likely a lot more symptoms, but these are the ones I know off the top of my head. Hope this helps.

 

[jgalt42]

What usually restores ketosis?

Would ketoacidosis shift your oxygen dissociation curve to the right because of the low pH in your blood?

 

[loveoforganic]

Slowed breathing rate I guess?

And yeah, I believe so. And this makes sense because you want to unload oxygen to muscles when you exercise, which is a typical time your breathing rate would increase causing ketoacidosis.


I hope.

 

[jgalt42]

Wait, wouldn't your breathing rate go up if your blood is more acidic? I think thats the case during that rxn with carbonic acid and carbon dioxide.

 

[loveoforganic]

Wait, sorry, yeah, I always mix that up -_-. So basically reverse everything I said!

 

[0Complications]

Damn, I wish I remembered the answer to this. I could pull out my old organic notes, but I'm at work and too lazy.

The cause is not a decrease in respiratory rate though. Typically respiratory rate changes to compensate for a change in pH due to some other cause.

In ketoacidosis I can't remember the name of the reaction or the excess, but it is a result from excessive fat/protein hydrolysis, resulting in an increase in X compound - ketone bodies (don't remember which one), that results in a increased concentration of reactants that shifts the equilibrium to the right forming more products, that cause ketoacidosis. My brain must be fried though, because I can't remember the names of the compounds to save my life.

At any rate it's metabolic NOT respiratory.


Oh, I almost forgot. I just had an AAMC passage on this. The decrease in pH of the blood can also lead to gout.

But overall, just think diabetic and all the things that can happen to a diabetic if they don't regulate their insulin levels.

 

[jgalt42]

Thanks!

So would you say only Carbonic acid causes respiratory changes? I would think that any type of source of protons in the blood would cause respiratory changes in your lungs though.

 

[loveoforganic]

Which takes place in the liver, correct?

edit: I think the body would still try to compensate for the acidosis by expelling CO2 by increasing respiratory rate, but it would be a short term fix until hormones could act on the liver?

 

[0Complications]

Thanks!

So would you say only Carbonic acid causes respiratory changes? I would think that any type of source of protons in the blood would cause respiratory changes in your lungs though.

Yes. Carbonic acid is a major way to regulate blood pH utilizing respiration.


If you have an increase in pH (more basic) respiration decreases.

If you have a decrease in pH (more acidic) respiration increases.


Just think about it in terms of CO2, if you have an increase in CO2 the blood become more acidic, thus respiration must increase and if you have a decrease in CO2, the blood becomes more basic and respiration must decrease.

 

[0Complications]

Which takes place in the liver, correct?

edit: I think the body would still try to compensate for the acidosis by expelling CO2 by increasing respiratory rate, but it would be a short term fix until hormones could act on the liver?

It's not just the liver. You're going to have protein/fat breakdown wherever cells need energy.

The increase in respiratory rate will occur, but it's a secondary affect of the acidosis, not a causal affect.

 

[G1SG2]

Doesn't this happen when there's not enough oxaloacetate to accommodate acetyl coA?