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Updated: Jul 6, 2025

Homogeneous Time-resolved Förster Resonance Energy Transfer-based Assay for Detection of Insulin Secretion
Published on: May 10, 2018
The N-Methyl-D-Aspartate Receptor Antagonist Dextromethorphan Improves Glucose Homeostasis and Preserves Pancreatic
Laura Wörmeyer1,2, Oliver Nortmann1,2, Anna Hamacher2
1Department of General Pediatrics, Neonatology and Pediatric Cardiology, Medical Faculty and University Hospital Düsseldorf, Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf, Germany.
Abstract:
For treatment of type 1 diabetes mellitus, a combination of immune-based interventions and medication to promote beta-cell survival and proliferation has been proposed. Dextromethorphan (DXM) is an N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor antagonist with a good safety profile, and to date, preclinical and clinical evidence for blood glucose-lowering and islet-cell-protective effects of DXM have only been provided for animals and individuals with type 2 diabetes mellitus. Here, we assessed the potential anti-diabetic effects of DXM in the non-obese diabetic mouse model of type 1 diabetes. More specifically, we showed that DXM treatment led to five-fold higher numbers of pancreatic islets and more than two-fold larger alpha- and beta-cell areas compared to untreated mice. Further, DXM treatment improved glucose homeostasis and reduced diabetes incidence by 50%. Our data highlight DXM as a novel candidate for adjunct treatment of preclinical or recent-onset type 1 diabetes.
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