McIntyre 2007

Could Depression Be
a Syndrome X of the Mind?

As the epidemic diseases that killed millions in the past become distant memories, chronic metabolic diseases take their place. Prominent among these is a trio of diseases that frequently appear together: weight issues, insulin resistance, and cardiovascular disease.

Since brain cells will only use sugar as fuel, we can get a good idea of what parts of the brain are functioning or not by monitoring the rate at which they consume sugar. Modern imaging can do this, and has shown us for some time that specific regions of the brain tend toward underactivity in certain cognitive disorders.

The assumption has been that psychological issues would lead to underutilized brain regions responsible for certain mental capacities. But could the relationship work in the other direction? Could an inability to metabolize the brain's fuel ... glucose ... in specific brain regions contribute to psychopathology? Could depression and other cognitive issues sometimes be a "Syndrome X" of the mind?

The authors of this study think so. By comparing symptoms, causative factors, and tracing the relative courses of these four diseases, the authors make the case that there may well be a third type of diabetes that primarily affects the brain, and may be undetected by ordinary glucose tolerance tests.

This is a six page paper; you have one hour and twelve minutes to study it. Watch the video to quickly review the main points.

There is a lot more biochemical and neuroendocrinological terminology in this article than you are expected to understand. Watch the video with the study alongside. The important terms will be explained there as they appear in the study.

The video may take 15-60 seconds to load, depending upon the speed of your connection.