Now that I’m finished with my 24 hour pity party (see below) let me get back to the diabetes posts.
An appetite-suppressing chemical also improves glucose tolerance and lowers insulin levels in obese and diabetic mice, researchers report in the November issue of Cell Metabolism, a publication of Cell Press.
The decades-old drug compound, known as m-chlorophenylpiperazine (mCPP), triggers serotonin receptors in the brain. The findings suggest a new strategy for treating the rising tide of people with type 2 diabetes via targeting the so-called serotonin 2C (5-HT2C) receptors.
“Though just a first step, this work provides a new direction in the search for novel pathways and molecules in the brain to target for the treatment of type 2 diabetes,” said Lora Heisler of the University of Cambridge. “The challenge now is to come up with drugs that selectively target 5-HT2C receptors safely and effectively.” mCPP has primarily been used in scientific studies of the serotonin pathway and may not itself be appropriate for type 2 diabetes treatment due to its other known effects, Heisler added.
…more at HULIQ.com Low dose of serotonin-acting chemical improves blood sugar tolerance
Note this is a pathway, not the actual serotonin chemical a lot of people take to sleep. From the article:
While the findings do link serotonin pathways to improved blood sugar tolerance, serotonin supplements would not produce this effect, Heisler noted. That’s because serotonin taken in through the diet cannot cross the blood-brain barrier to reach the critical receptors.
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