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People With Diabetes More Likely to Develop Schizophrenia
Vanderbilt University Medical Center investigators have discovered a molecular link between impaired insulin signalling in the brain and schizophrenia-like behaviors in mice.
The findings offer a new perspective on the psychiatric and cognitive disorders that affect patients with diabetes and suggest new strategies for treating these conditions.
"We know that people with diabetes have an increased incidence of mood and other psychiatric disorders. And we think that those co-morbidities might explain why some patients have trouble taking care of their diabetes," said endocrinologist Dr. Kevin Niswender.
"Something goes wrong in the brain because insulin isn't signaling the way that it normally does," said neurobiologist Dr. Aurelio Galli.
Galli's group was among the first to show that insulin - the hormone that governs glucose metabolism in the body - also regulates the brain's supply of dopamine - a neurotransmitter with roles in motor activity, attention and reward.
Disrupted dopamine signalling has been implicated in brain disorders including depression, Parkinson's disease, schizophrenia and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder.
Now, researchers have pieced together the molecular pathway between perturbed insulin signalling in the brain and dopamine dysfunction leading to schizophrenia-like behaviours.
The researchers developed mice with an insulin-signalling defect only in neurons (they impaired the function of the protein Akt, which transmits insulin's signal inside cells).
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More News on: Diabetic Retinopathy, Diabetes, Diabetic Diet, Schizophrenia, Diabetes - Essentials, Diabetes - Self-Monitoring of Blood Glucose (SMBG), Insulin Delivery Devices, Diabetes and Exercise, Stress Relief Through Alternative Medicine, Stress and the Gender Divide
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