A patient with liver cirrhosis experiences significantly reduced glycogen storage capacity. Which mechanism explains why blood glucose levels become unstable, especially during fasting?

💡 Explanation

The liver normally buffers blood glucose by storing it as glycogen and releasing it via glycogenolysis when needed. Because cirrhosis impairs glycogen storage, the liver cannot perform glycogenolysis effectively to maintain glucose levels during fasting; therefore, glucose levels become unstable, rather than being stabilized by other processes.

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