How the brain links the effects of insulin to light

By understanding how the brain links the effects of insulin to light, researchers are deciphering how insulin sensitivity fluctuates according to circadian cycles, but also according to the organs involved. At the heart of their discovery are neurons of the ventromedial hypothalamic nucleus, a part of the brain that masters this delicate balance. These results, to be discovered in the journal Cell Reports, should also encourage diabetic patients and their doctors to consider the best time to take insulin to properly control its effect and limit the risk of hyperglycemia.

 The disruption of our internal clocks seems to play a significant role in the explosion of metabolic diseases observed in recent decades, and particularly of diabetes. Indeed, if the importance of day-night alternation on the effect of insulin and on the body's glycaemic management is beginning to be known, what about the mechanisms involved? How does the organism synchronize its clocks? By understanding how the brain links the effects of insulin to light, researchers at the University of Geneva (UNIGE) are deciphering how insulin sensitivity fluctuates according to circadian cycles, but also according to the organs involved. At the heart of their discovery are neurons of the ventromedial hypothalamic nucleus, a part of the brain that masters this delicate balance. These results, to be discovered in the journal Cell Reports, should also encourage diabetic patients and their doctors to consider the best time to take insulin to properly control its effect and limit the risk of hypoglycaemia.