MSGID: 1:317/3 646ee49e   
   PID: hpt/lnx 1.9.0-cur 2019-01-08   
   TID: hpt/lnx 1.9.0-cur 2019-01-08   
    Researchers map the brain during blood sugar changes    
    Brain regions mapped to aid future diabetes therapies and studies    
      
     Date:   
         May 24, 2023   
     Source:   
         University of Texas at El Paso   
     Summary:   
         Researchers have successfully mapped specific regions in the brain   
         that are activated in association with changes in blood sugar --   
         also known as glucose -- providing fundamental location information   
         that could ultimately lead to more targeted therapies for people   
         who struggle with conditions like diabetes.   
      
      
         Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIN Email   
      
   ==========================================================================   
   FULL STORY   
   ==========================================================================   
   Researchers at The University of Texas at El Paso have successfully   
   mapped specific regions in the brain that are activated in association   
   with changes in blood sugar -- also known as glucose -- providing   
   fundamental location information that could ultimately lead to more   
   targeted therapies for people who struggle with conditions like diabetes.   
      
   The landmark 13-year study, published in the Journal of Clinical Medicine,   
   describes how the team used careful microscopic analysis to pinpoint   
   specific cell populations in the brain that appear responsive to rapid   
   changes in blood sugar.   
      
   Arshad M. Khan, Ph.D., UTEP associate professor in biological sciences,   
   and a team from his laboratory, led by doctoral student Geronimo   
   Tapia, spent the past decade continuing work first performed by student   
   researchers at the University of Southern California (USC), where Khan   
   worked prior to joining the faculty at UTEP. Together with the help of   
   two additional team members -- UTEP Research Assistant Professor Sivasai   
   Balivada, Ph.D., and USC's Richard H.   
      
   Thompson, Ph.D. -- the team discovered what they believe may be glucose-   
   sensitive cell populations in the brain and carefully mapped their   
   locations in an open-access brain atlas.   
      
   The results of the study represent a significant step toward uniform   
   global brain mapping and the evaluation of cellular responses to blood   
   sugar in diabetic patients, Khan explained.   
      
   "I am grateful to all my contributors' hard work throughout the years,   
   both when I was at USC and now here at UTEP," Khan said. "Finally knowing   
   the exact coordinates for these structures in an open-access brain   
   atlas means this spatial knowledge can now be utilized by the scientific   
   community for the refined targeting of future clinical or therapeutic   
   interventions for individuals experiencing blood sugar fluctuations and   
   prediabetes."  Khan added, "Finding these cells is a bit like monitoring   
   the fuel sensors in a car when its fuel levels rise or fall. The next   
   step will be to find the wiring that connects these sensors to other   
   parts of the brain, a task for which we are already hard at work."   
   Khan's team was able to track blood sugar changes in responsive regions   
   of the brain in 15 minutes, a process that previously took hours due to   
   limitations in the biomarkers used to detect these changes.   
      
   The locus coeruleus (Latin for "blue place") -- a brain region so   
   named because of its unique tissue color -- produces norepinephrine,   
   a neurotransmitter that plays an important role in arousal, attention   
   and the body's stress response.   
      
   In the study, the locus coeruleus was found to be one of the few regions   
   responsive early on during the blood sugar changes, suggesting it is   
   an important arousal center for individuals with Type I and Type II   
   diabetes when they experience life-threatening alterations in their blood   
   sugar. Such alterations often occur when diabetics self-inject insulin,   
   a hormone treatment which normalizes their high blood sugar levels, but   
   which can also send them to dangerously low levels if incorrectly dosed.   
      
   The new knowledge of that region of the brain could ultimately help   
   researchers monitor and intervene during the most dangerous effects   
   of variations in blood sugar that arise as a common complication of   
   diabetes management.   
      
   "This research is very important in our border region because there   
   is a high prevalence of obesity and diabetes in our communities,"   
   said Jessica Salcido Padilla, a UTEP graduate student from the Khan   
   lab and study co-author. "Our goal is to identify exactly where certain   
   processes happen in the brain so we can develop therapies, technologies   
   or pharmaceuticals that help."  Khan's research was supported by three   
   grants from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and by funds and   
   imaging facilities available from UTEP's Border Biomedical Research   
   Center, which focuses on biomedical research relevant to the Paso del   
   Norte region. The NIH funds included resources for microscopic imaging   
   and analysis, mapping software and computational tools used by graduate   
   student research assistants and research staff, and tuition support for   
   students that produced the data for this study.   
      
   "This important work by Dr. Khan and his team exemplifies our college's   
   -- and our University's -- commitment to the advancement of discovery   
   of public value," said Robert Kirken, Ph.D., dean of the UTEP College   
   of Science. "I sincerely congratulate them on the fruitful conclusion   
   of their study, and I am hopeful and enthusiastic about the clinical   
   therapies their findings will enable."   
       * RELATED_TOPICS   
             o Health_&_Medicine   
                   # Brain_Tumor # Diabetes # Hypertension # Nervous_System #   
                   Blood_Clots # Anemia # Psychology_Research # Birth_Defects   
       * RELATED_TERMS   
             o Hyperglycemia o Blood_sugar o Diabetes o Diabetic_diet o   
             Glycemic_index o Glycogen o Insulin o Honey   
      
   ==========================================================================   
   Story Source: Materials provided by University_of_Texas_at_El_Paso. Note:   
   Content may be edited for style and length.   
      
      
   ==========================================================================   
   Journal Reference:   
      1. Geronimo P. Tapia, Lindsay J. Agostinelli, Sarah D. Chenausky,   
      Jessica V.   
      
         Salcido Padilla, Vanessa I. Navarro, Amy Alagh, Gabriel Si,   
         Richard H.   
      
         Thompson, Sivasai Balivada, Arshad M. Khan. Glycemic Challenge Is   
         Associated with the Rapid Cellular Activation of the Locus Ceruleus   
         and Nucleus of Solitary Tract: Circumscribed Spatial Analysis of   
         Phosphorylated MAP Kinase Immunoreactivity. Journal of Clinical   
         Medicine, 2023; 12 (7): 2483 DOI: 10.3390/jcm12072483   
   ==========================================================================   
      
   Link to news story:   
   https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2023/05/230524182029.htm   
      
   --- up 1 year, 12 weeks, 2 days, 10 hours, 50 minutes   
    * Origin: -=> Castle Rock BBS <=- Now Husky HPT Powered! (1:317/3)   
   SEEN-BY: 15/0 106/201 114/705 123/120 153/7715 218/700 226/30 227/114   
   SEEN-BY: 229/110 112 113 307 317 400 426 428 470 664 700 291/111 292/854   
   SEEN-BY: 298/25 305/3 317/3 320/219 396/45   
   PATH: 317/3 229/426