Skip to main content

Bioenergetic Crisis

Meaning

A profound state of cellular dysfunction characterized by a critical imbalance between the energy supply, primarily from mitochondria, and the metabolic energy demand of a cell or tissue. This crisis signifies a failure in cellular bioenergetics, where the cell cannot generate sufficient adenosine triphosphate (ATP) to maintain essential physiological processes and homeostasis. The resulting energetic failure is a unifying pathophysiological mechanism underlying numerous chronic and age-related diseases. In endocrine contexts, this often manifests as a deficit in the specialized energy-intensive functions of hormone-producing cells.