Type 2 Diabetes Linked with Alzheimer’s Disease
by Clinton Gil in Diseases on Nov 11, 2010
Researchers in Japan reported that people with insulin resistance and
type 2 diabetes have a higher chance of developing signs in the brain
that is associated with Alzheimer’s disease.
The study involved 135 elderly participants from Hisayama Fukuoka
prefecture. They have been studied for 10-15 years. The study’s
process was through getting and measuring the participants’ blood
sugar levels checked several times within the day. This process
started since the start of the study so that the results will not be
compromised.
The researchers conducted a further study that will really explain
their purpose. After the participants died, the researchers studied
their brains. They conducted autopsies on all of the participants’
brains and found out that there are signs of Alzheimer’s disease. The
bodies that were found to have these signs were those who had high
sugar levels when they were still alive.
The lead researcher of the team, Kensuke Sasaki explains, “It is
possible that adequate control of diabetes in midlife may contribute
to prevention of Alzheimer’s disease.”
Sixteen percent or twenty one elderly participants developed
Alzheimer’s disease even before they died and signs of this in their
brains were present. In other participants, their autopsies show that
there were also signs of having Alzheimer’s disease. These
participants were the people who had abnormally high level of blood
sugar in their bodies.
Sasaki explained that signs were found in 72 percent of the
participants who had insulin resistance and only 62 percent were found
to have not taken insulin resistant medication, but were affirmed with
signs of Alzheimer’s disease. The main point is that “insulin
resistance may possibly accelerate plaque pathology development.”
Since the study has been conducted for 10-15 years, researchers were
strict to their stand that insulin resistance or diabetes may have
resulted in Alzheimer’s disease.
Related Posts:
Diabetes affects 20.8 million children and adults in the United States, and that figure is rising each year. Although it is not known exactly what causes diabetes, genetics and environmental factors such as obesity and lack of exercise seem to play a role.