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Potassium channels in the hypothalamus linked to blood glucose control. |
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EurekAlert: The current Einstein study, involving people, was aimed at resolving this controversy. Ten nondiabetic subjects were given oral diazoxide, a drug that activates potassium channels in the hypothalamus. (The drug is not used to treat diabetes.) Hormone secretion by the pancreas was controlled to ensure that any change in sugar production would only have occurred through the drug's effect on the brain. After the researchers administered the drug, blood tests revealed that patients' livers were producing significantly less glucose than before. Dr. Hawkins and her team then repeated this in rats, again giving diazoxide orally, achieving similar results. They confirmed that sufficient amounts of diazoxide crossed the blood-brain barrier to affect potassium channels in the hypothalamus. Additional experiments confirmed that diazoxide was working through the brain. Specifically, the researchers were able to completely block the effects of diazoxide by infusing a specific potassium channel blocker directly into the brain.
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