Blood-brain barrier unlikely culprit behind nervous system pathologies in diabetes

Results from a recent study on mice challenge the previous notion of what is causing the cognitive impairment and central nervous system pathologies associated with diabetes. The investigation, lead by Guillem Genové from Karolinska Institutet, shows that no blood-brain barrier dysfunction can be observed in diabetic mice. RNA sequencing analyses were enabled by the SciLifeLab National Genomics Infrastructure (NGI).

Earlier reports from in vitro experiments had suggested high blood to sugar give rise to the central nervous system disorders coupled to diabetes mellitus, such as stroke, vascular dementia, or Alzheimer’s disease, by causing leakage and dysfunction of the blood-brain barrier. The novel study, however, applies a variety of methodologies to evaluate the blood-brain function and integrity in vivo, using a mouse model with inherent high blood sugar levels, and cannot observe any such changes.

Read the full paper in Scientific Reports