Catheterization of cerebral vessels in three obese patients undergoing 5-6 wk of starvation demonstrated that β-hydroxybutyrate and acetoacetate replaced glucose as the predominant fuel for brain metabolism. A strikingly low respiratory quotient was also observed, suggesting a carboxylation mechanism as a means of disposing of some of the carbon of the consumed substrates.
O. E. Owen, A. P. Morgan, H. G. Kemp, J. M. Sullivan, M. G. Herrera, G. F. Cahill Jr.
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