Diabetics need insulin or else?

Today, the Trenchville City Gazette reports that insufficient insulin may lead to behavioral problems in diabetics.

The prefrontal cortex lies at the core of anger and negative emotions.  As an example, in a mining accident, a man had been struck by a steel shaft that separated his prefrontal cortex from the other portions of his brain, expressing radical behavior with much cursing and swearing. In essence, he could not control his negative behavior. Diabetics may actually face a temporary dysfunction quite similar to the miner  without adequate insulin.

In online discussions, you can read a about the issues and emotions diabetics face, which appears to add proof to this theory. One online blogger wrote: "What people usually hear is anger, they see tears, and most of the time they don’t understand why. They don’t understand that it’s not me being hormotional half the time."

Another blogger wrote: I literally hate life and have (had mood swings)  as long as I can remember. I have been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes but my girlfriend says she doesn't act that way when her blood sugar gets high. So, I'm wondering is there something else that could be connected to my psychotic episodes when my blood sugar is out of control?"

A blogger responded: "And diabetes effects EVERYTHING. You think your girlfriend is pissed off now?? Wait until the diabetes destroys the veins and nerves in your penis. First, you get Erectile Dysfunction (but since the nerves are involved, Viagra doesn't help), eventually, you become impotent -- unable to have an erection."

Even science appears to  add credence to this behavioral problem, although many medical professionals will deny such an issue exists. In  fact, this problem has been associated with too little insulin which effects the prefrontal cortex. Sigmund Freud theorized that the prefrontal cortex problems had been linked to psychosis.  In the article, Effects of changes in the peripheral and cerebral glucose metabolism  on locomotor activity, leaning and memory in adult male rats, the researchers concluded that induced high blood sugar resulted in behavioral changes. They further concluded  this behavior could be the result a defect in the neuron transmission that signal between the brain neuronal cells.

In another study,  the researchers  mechanistically links together two important neurotransmitter systems ... which have been implicated in neuropsychiatric disorders, such as depression and anxiety," according to Xiang Cai and associates who published the article Activity -dependent bidirectional regulation of GABA recepter channels by the 5-ht receptor-mediated signalling in rat prefrontal corttical pyramidal neurons. "Emerging evidence suggests that imbalances in ... neurotransmission and the ensuing dysregulalation of (nerve cell)  signaling may contribute significantly to the pathogenesis of mental diseases."

In the above article published in The Journal of Physiology provided some key evidence why diabetics might display anger and irritation so quickly. In another article, Dysfunction in the neural Circuitry of emotion regulation -- a possible prelude to violence, author Richard J. Davidson and associates made some important observations.

"Emotion is normally regulated in the human brain by a complex circuit consisting of the orbital frontal cortex ..., and several other interconnected regions. There are both genetic and environmental contributions to the structure and function of this circuitry. We posit that impulsive aggression and violence arise as a consequence of faulty emotion regulation. Indeed, the prefrontal cortex receives a major (depression)  serotonergic projection, which is dysfunctional in individuals who show impulsive violence. Individuals vulnerable to faulty regulation of negative emotion are at risk for violence and aggression."

We have proposed that the mechanism underlying suppression of negative emotion is via an inhibitory connection from regions of the (PFC) prefrontal cortex ...This proposal is based on several lines of evidence. First, data in rodents show that lesions of the PFC interfere with extinction of a classically conditioned aversive response... Second, data from a positron emission tomography (PET) study show reciprocal relations between glucose metabolism in several areas of the frontal cortex. The implications of these findings are several: First, individual differences in the capacity to regulate emotion are objectively measurable. Second, individual differences in patterns of prefrontal activation predict ability to (control anger) and thus reflect differences in aspects of emotion regulation. Third, individual differences in emotion regulation skills, particularly as they apply to suppression of negative affect, may be especially important in determining vulnerability to aggression and violence."

From the Archives of General Psychiatry 1999, increased insulin levels in Alzheimer's patients improved memory, adding more proof to the positive effects of insulin administration.

From the above evidence, family reports of diabetic men acting aggressive, screaming and in some cases hitting appear to add proof to this above theory. Today, as a society, we can no longer sit idly by and watch people suffer, families suffer and children suffer because we do not address the diabetics in our households. This author growing up remembers his diabetic mother always had a sharp edge if the five of us boys did not behave properly. Life could be a holy terror at times, and know this author knows that her behavior did not represent her true personality. Instead, her uncontrolled diabetes prohibited her from controlling her negative emotions.

Consequently, society and doctors can no longer sit by without addressing the diabetic's mental states as a form of treatment. We have  clear evidence that diabetes causes a problem with the prefrontal cortex, which then causes behavioral problems. For that reason, we should not be surprised when diabetics beg to die, tell family members and friends they hat life and God.