Q: What did we learn?
Dr. Mehran’s hypothesis was that estradiol produced by neurons enhances the production and action of insulin in the brain, and that this would have beneficial effects in a rat model of Alzheimer’s disease. However, even using some of the most sensitive assays, they failed to yield a difference.
However, Dr. Mehran discovered that second-generation antipsychotic medications inhibit insulin maturation. This finding is important because these medications are used to treat patients with psychosis and Alzheimer disease. These medications may be contributing to cognitive harm, by reducing levels of brain insulin.
ABSTRACT
Estradiol enhances insulin production and response in the pancreas. However, the effects of estradiol in the brain have never been confirmed. Yet when expressed together in the hippocampus (a brain structure critically involved in memory), estradiol and insulin promote neuron growth and survival as well as synapse formation and maintenance.
Dr. Mehran tested the hypothesis that estradiol produced by neurons enhances the production and action of insulin in the brain, and that this has beneficial effects in a rat model of Alzheimer’s disease. Dr. Mehran predicted that inhibition of brain estradiol production will reduce brain insulin expression/action and increase negative effects associated with Alzheimer’s disease in this rat model.