Anti-Diabetic Actions of Serotonin Uncovered

Anti-Diabetic Actions of Serotonin Uncovered: New findings suggest that serotonin — a brain chemical known to help regulate emotion, mood and sleep — might also have anti-diabetic properties. It provides an explanation for why individuals prescribed certain kinds of anti-psychotic drugs that affect serotonin signaling sometimes have problems with their metabolism, including weight gain and the development of diabetes. “This discovery tells us that drugs that affect serotonin action can have anti-diabetic actions independent of body weight and feeding.” said Dr. Joel Elmquist, professor of internal medicine and pharmacology at UT Southwestern. Nature Neuroscience, Nov. 11, 2010