Effect of vanadium on regional brain glucose utilization in rats

Recent study has indicated that administration of vanadate, an insulomimetic agent, stimulates glucose uptake in the brain, concurrently with a suppression of food intake. The present work was carried out to characterize which specific brain areas are implicated in this increased glucose utilization. After 3 days of vanadate or vanadyl treatment, anaesthetized fasted rats were injected with tritiated 2-deoxyglucose and different brain areas were punched. Vanadate had no effect on glucose utilization but vanadyl significantly increased glucose uptake in the olfactory bulbs, the hypothalamus, and the hindbrain compared to the pair fed controls.