The level of blood sugar for many patients suffering from disease Q is slightly higher than the level of blood sugar in the general population. Nonetheless, most medical professionals believe that slightly increasing blood sugar levels is a successful means by which to treat disease Q. This apparently contradictory argument can best be resolved by which one of the following statements?
Options
Blood sugar levels for patients who have been cured of disease Q are virtually identical to the level of blood sugar found in the general population
Many of the symptoms associated with severe cases of disease Q have been recognized in laboratory animals with experimentally induced high blood pressure, but none of the animals developed disease Q
The movement from inactive to advanced states of disease Q often occurs because the virus that causes Q flourishes during periods when blood sugar levels are slightly low
The blood sugar level in patients with disease Q fluctuates abnormally in response to changes in blood chemistry
Solution
The movement from inactive to advanced states of disease Q often occurs because the virus that causes Q flourishes during periods when blood sugar levels are slightly low
Explanation:
The apparent contradiction in the argument is that patients suffering from disease Q report a slightly high level of blood sugar. But this abnormal condition of high blood sugar is considered a means to treat the very same disease of which it is a symptom. This contradiction is best explained in 'The blood sugar level in patients with disease Q fluctuates abnormally in response to changes in blood chemistry'.
