by Mary Ann Travis
Andrea Zsombok, assistant professor of physiology in the Tulane School of Medicine, investigates how neurons in the brain regulate glucose levels in the body. She’s ultimately looking for ways to help people suffering from diabetes. Credit: Carlos Avrard
When diabetes strikes, the brain is not the first thing that comes to mind.
But the brain is essential in the body's communication circuitry—and in diabetes something is "off" in that circuitry.
Andrea Zsombok, assistant professor of physiology in the Tulane University School of Medicine, is investigating the brain's role in regulating and maintaining glucose levels in the body.
"The brain has so much potential—and so many things we have no idea about," said Zsombok. "It's amazing."
She's particularly studying the neurons—specialized cells in the brain transmitting nerve impulses—that convey to the liver the need to store or release sugar.
Diabetes is a disease associated with high blood sugar levels. Sugar (or glucose) is blocked from proper use in the body because the pancreas does not release insulin or the body can't use its own insulin as well as it should. In addition, the liver, which also is responsible for storing and making glucose, plays an important role in the maintenance of sugar levels.
Zsombok studies brain activity in the hypothalamus, the site of control of all the autonomic functions of the body, such as body temperature and blood pressure—and glucose levels.
She's looking into how neurons associated with the liver function normally. She then records what happens during diabetes when the neurons are not acting properly.
"We are interested in thinking about how we can prevent or reverse this change of the neuron during diabetes," said Zsombok.
Her work on how the brain controls glucose homeostasis is supported by the National Institutes of Health. Her research has been published in the Journals of the American Diabetes Association . Recently, her laboratory's latest findings were presented at the Experimental Biology conference in Boston.
Her goal is to help people with diabetes and ultimately find a way to restore neurons gone awry in people suffering from the disease.
"Hopefully, we will succeed in that way," she said.
Explore further: Glucose 'control switch' in the brain key to both types of diabetes
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by Mary Ann Travis
Andrea Zsombok, assistant professor of physiology in the Tulane School of Medicine, investigates how neurons in the brain regulate glucose levels in the body. She’s ultimately looking for ways to help people suffering from diabetes. Credit: Carlos Avrard
When diabetes strikes, the brain is not the first thing that comes to mind.
But the brain is essential in the body's communication circuitry—and in diabetes something is "off" in that circuitry.
Andrea Zsombok, assistant professor of physiology in the Tulane University School of Medicine, is investigating the brain's role in regulating and maintaining glucose levels in the body.
"The brain has so much potential—and so many things we have no idea about," said Zsombok. "It's amazing."
She's particularly studying the neurons—specialized cells in the brain transmitting nerve impulses—that convey to the liver the need to store or release sugar.
Diabetes is a disease associated with high blood sugar levels. Sugar (or glucose) is blocked from proper use in the body because the pancreas does not release insulin or the body can't use its own insulin as well as it should. In addition, the liver, which also is responsible for storing and making glucose, plays an important role in the maintenance of sugar levels.
Zsombok studies brain activity in the hypothalamus, the site of control of all the autonomic functions of the body, such as body temperature and blood pressure—and glucose levels.
She's looking into how neurons associated with the liver function normally. She then records what happens during diabetes when the neurons are not acting properly.
"We are interested in thinking about how we can prevent or reverse this change of the neuron during diabetes," said Zsombok.
Her work on how the brain controls glucose homeostasis is supported by the National Institutes of Health. Her research has been published in the Journals of the American Diabetes Association . Recently, her laboratory's latest findings were presented at the Experimental Biology conference in Boston.
Her goal is to help people with diabetes and ultimately find a way to restore neurons gone awry in people suffering from the disease.
"Hopefully, we will succeed in that way," she said.
Explore further: Glucose 'control switch' in the brain key to both types of diabetes
Medical Xpress on facebook
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Glucose 'control switch' in the brain key to both types of diabetes
Researchers at Yale School of Medicine have pinpointed a mechanism in part of the brain that is key to sensing glucose levels in the blood, linking it to both type 1 and type 2 diabetes. The findings are ...
Two compounds target the gut to lower blood sugar, in obese or diabetic rats
Researchers at the Toronto General Hospital Research Institute have discovered metformin (the most widely prescribed type 2 diabetic medication) and resveratrol, a compound found in red wine, trigger novel ...
Brain may play key role in blood sugar metabolism and development of diabetes
A growing body of evidence suggests that the brain plays a key role in glucose regulation and the development of type 2 diabetes, researchers write in the Nov. 7 issue of the journal Nature. If the hypoth ...
Study finds why drug for type 2 diabetes makes people fat
Medication used to treat patients with type II diabetes activates sensors on brain cells that increase hunger, causing people taking this drug to gain more body fat, according to researchers at Georgia State ...
Scientists identify key control for blood glucose levels which could improve diabetes treatment
For people suffering from diabetes, managing blood sugar can be like walking a tightrope - if too high they run the risk of serious long term complications such as blindness, kidney failure, limb gangrene ...
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Lifestyle interventions for diabetes yield modest results
(HealthDay)—Lifestyle-based weight loss intervention trials in type 2 diabetes achieve modest reductions in weight and glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) levels, according to a meta-analysis published in the April ...
Eating eggs reduces risk of type 2 diabetes
Egg consumption may reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes, according to new research from the University of Eastern Finland. The findings were published in American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.
High-fat dairy products linked to reduced type 2 diabetes risk
Consumption of high-fat yoghurt and cheese are linked to a reduction in the risk of type 2 diabetes by as much as a fifth, according to new research from Lund University in Sweden. High meat consumption, on the other hand, ...
Each hour spent watching TV daily increases the risk of developing diabetes by 3.4 percent
Each hour spent watching TV daily increases the risk of developing diabetes by 3.4%, concludes a study published in Diabetologia (the journal of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes). The st ...
Exercise away diabetes risk
A QUT study will investigate the impact of different exercise strategies for men at-risk of developing diabetes.
Arsenic metabolism linked to diabetes incidence
(HealthDay)—Arsenic metabolism is prospectively associated with diabetes incidence, according to a study published in the April issue of Diabetes Care.
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