A stimulating therapy for diabetes

Diabetes In type 2 diabetes, insulin resistance leads to elevated blood glucose and increased risk of cardiovascular disorders. The brain participates in glucose metabolism, but whether and how modulation of brain activity affects systemic blood concentrations of glucose is poorly understood. In diabetic and nondiabetic patients, ter Horst et al. found that dopamine release induced by deep brain electrical stimulation of the nucleus accumbens decreased systemic glucose concentrations. Conversely, pharmacological systemic dopamine depletion reduced insulin-mediated blood glucose uptake. Sci. Transl. Med. 10 , eaar3752 (2018).