How insulin helps blood flow by turning on a special switch in blood vessels
Insulin-mediated skeletal muscle vasodilation is nitric oxide dependent. A novel action of insulin to increase nitric oxide release.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a healthcare professional. Terms
Insulin tells the body's blood vessels in the legs to open up more by using a chemical called nitric oxide. It does this by turning up the body's ability to make nitric oxide in the blood vessel lining, not by making the muscles in the vessel more sensitive to it.
No biological mechanisms were identified in this study. This may be an epidemiological, observational, or survey-based study that reports associations rather than proposing causal biological pathways.
Systematic Reviews & Meta-Analyses
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Evidence Score
A snapshot of a population at a single point in time. Can identify correlations and prevalence, but cannot determine the direction of cause and effect.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a healthcare professional. Terms
Insulin tells the body's blood vessels in the legs to open up more by using a chemical called nitric oxide. It does this by turning up the body's ability to make nitric oxide in the blood vessel lining, not by making the muscles in the vessel more sensitive to it.
No biological mechanisms were identified in this study. This may be an epidemiological, observational, or survey-based study that reports associations rather than proposing causal biological pathways.
Systematic Reviews & Meta-Analyses
Max 100Randomized Controlled Trials
Max 90Cohort Studies
Max 72Case-Control Studies
Max 58Cross-Sectional Studies
Max 44Case Reports & Case Series
Max 30Expert Opinion & Narrative Reviews
Max 538 / 44
Evidence Score
A snapshot of a population at a single point in time. Can identify correlations and prevalence, but cannot determine the direction of cause and effect.
Publication
Authors
Steinberg HO, Brechtel G, Johnson A, Fineberg N, Baron AD
Related Content
Claims (7)
When insulin is present, it helps blood vessels in muscles relax, letting more blood flow in. This brings more creatine to the muscle surface, where it can be absorbed.
In healthy adults, insulin doesn't make blood vessels relax more when nitric oxide is already at work — meaning insulin probably doesn't improve blood flow by boosting the muscle's response to nitric oxide.
Insulin helps blood vessels relax better when the signal comes from the vessel lining, but not when the signal bypasses it—meaning insulin probably boosts the lining's ability to release a blood-vessel-relaxing chemical called nitric oxide.
When insulin levels go up in healthy adults, it helps blood flow better in the legs by turning on a molecule called nitric oxide — and it works about twice as well as when insulin isn’t active.
When insulin goes up in healthy people — without changing blood sugar — blood flow to the legs nearly doubles, showing insulin itself can widen blood vessels.