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What Is Cerebral Diabetes?

Cerebral diabetes does not necessarily refer to a type of diabetes. Rather, it a state of chemical activity in the brain that results from diabetes. Research has shown a link between diabetes and mental illness. Cerebral diabetes is an unofficial term used in the medical establishment to refer to the chemical brain state that can lead to symptoms of mental illness.

  1. Definition

    • According to researcher published in Medical Hypothesis in 1995 on PubMed.gov, a medical library published by the U.S. National Library of Medicine and National Institutes of Health, cerebral diabetes is a "brain state" that has been given a general term. The term cerebral diabetes is usually used for research purposes to explain the fluctuating glucose levels in the brain that are associated, not only with diabetes, but with mental illnesses like schizophrenia.

    Significance

    • Researcher R.J. Holden argues in "Schizophrenia, Suicide and the Serotonin Story" that suicide and schizophrenia have both been linked to fluctuating glucose (sugar) levels in the brain. Suicide and schizophrenia have also been associated with lowered levels of neurotransmitters such as dopamine and serotonin. These chemical mediate the brain's metabolism of glucose. Thus, the fluctuating state of sugar in the brain known as cerebral diabetes may link mental illness and diabetes.

    Brain, Glucose and Mental Illness

    • According to Lights Out: Sleep, Sugar and Survival, sugar imbalances may actually contribute to symptoms of schizophrenia. In cases of schizophrenia, the brain overproduces the chemical dopamine, which causes manic states if amounts are too high.

    Brain State

    • Dopamine and serotonin levels work like a see-saw. Too much dopamine means not enough serotonin, which leads to a decrease in mood. Diabetic people are resistant to insulin, which regulates sugar in the body as well as the brain. Insulin is a hormone, but can also act as a neurotransmitter and lower levels of dopamine. If the brain is resistant to insulin, dopamine levels cannot be lowered. Thus, authors of Lights Out, T. S. Wiley and Bent Formby, have termed schiznophrenia the "ultimate state of insulin resistance in the brain," which causes erratic behavior.

    Warning

    • Overeating carbohydrates leads to fluctuations in the brain that may be termed cerebral diabetes, according to Lights Out. But mental illness symptoms should not be considered resultant from eating too many carbohydrates. If mood fluctuations are a problem, seek medical advice. Cerebral diabetes is only a term used to express related phenomenon regarding the state of the brain and glucose levels in the medical field, not an actual disorder. Cerebral diabetes is not the same as gestational diabetes, which occurs during pregnancy is some women, or as the conditions Type I and Type II diabetes. These conditions, generally referred to as diabetes, on the whole, involve the effectiveness of the chemical insulin, which is produced by the pancreas.

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