Normally I tend to shy away from technical articles in these pages. That’s true in the realm of my original training (medicine) as well as my current livelihood (information technology). But today there comes this story from the University of Arizona that I really need to share. It’s about promising new research into one root cause (fatty liver) of DM-2 (adult onset diabetes). Full story is here. Excerpts are below. If you have Type-2 diabetes yourself or know someone who does, this one’s a must-read. And if not? Read on anyway. You just might learn something.
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Obesity is associated with Type-2 diabetes. For a long time we have known that the amount of fat in the liver increases with obesity. As liver fat increases, the incidence of diabetes increases. This suggests that fat in the liver might be causing Type-2 diabetes. But how can liver fat cause the body to become resistant to insulin, or have an effect on pancreatic insulin secretion? That’s still a mystery….
To better understand how the liver communicates with the brain to influence metabolic changes in obesity and diabetes, <researchers> focused on fatty liver, measuring neuro-transmitters released from the liver in animal models. Fat in the liver increases the release of the inhibitory neuro-transmitter Gamma-aminobutyric acid, or GABA. A naturally occurring amino acid, GABA is the primary inhibitory neuro-transmitter in the central nervous system. This means it decreases nerve activity….
Nerves provide a conduit by which the brain and the rest of the body communicate. That communication is not only one-way, from the brain to other tissues, but also from tissues back to the brain. When the liver produces GABA, it decreases activity of those nerves that run from the liver to the brain. Thus, fatty liver, by producing GABA, is decreasing firing activity to the brain. That decrease in firing is sensed by the central nervous system – and that changes outgoing neural signals that affect glucose metabolism.
Long story short: Yay, science!
If you are one of the 34 million Americans with Type-2 diabetes, this research may one day result in treatments that could be a big boon for you. With an additional 88 million Americans pre-diabetic, you or someone you know is probably affected.