Hypoglycemia
Hypoglycemic symptoms and manifestations can be divided into those produced by the counterregulatory hormones (epinephrine/adrenaline and glucagon) triggered by the falling glucose, and the neuroglycopenic effects produced by the reduced brain sugar.Not all of the above manifestations occur in every case of hypoglycemia. There is no consistent order to the appearance of the symptoms, if symptoms even occur. Specific manifestations may also vary by age, by severity of the hypoglycemia and the speed of the decline. In young children, vomiting can sometimes accompany morning hypoglycemia with ketosis. In older children and adults, moderately severe hypoglycemia can resemble mania, mental illness, drug intoxication, or drunkenness. In the elderly, hypoglycemia can produce focal stroke-like effects or a hard-to-define malaise. The symptoms of a single person may be similar from episode to episode, but are not necessarily so and may be influenced by the speed at which glucose levels are dropping, as well as previous incidents.
Glycerol kinase deficiency
Glycerol Kinase Deficiency causes the condition known as hyperglycerolemia, an accumulation of glycerol in the blood and urine. This excess of glycerol in bodily fluids can lead to many more potentially dangerous symptoms. Common symptoms include vomiting and lethargy. These tend to be the only symptoms, if any, present in adult GKD which has been found to present with fewer symptoms than infant or juvenile GKD. When GKD is accompanied by Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy and Adrenal Hypoplasia Congenita, also caused by mutations on the Xp21 chromosome, the symptoms can become much more severe. Symptoms visible at or shortly after birth include:
Some other symptoms that become more noticeable with time would be:
Many of the physically visible symptoms, such as cryptorchidism, strabismus, learning disabilities, and myopathy, tend to have an added psychological effect on the subject due to the fact that they can set him or her apart from those without GKD. Cryptorchidism, the failure of one or both of the testes to descend to the scrotum, has been known to lead to sexual identity confusion amongst young boys because it is such a major physiological anomaly. Strabismus is the misalignment of one's eyes. Typically, one is focused but the other is “lazy” and is directed inward or out ward (up and down is less common but does occur).