The Diabetes-Alzheimer's Connection

The Diabetes-Alzheimer' s Connection


They are two of the most common and feared illnesses in the United States: Type 2 diabetes and Alzheimer's disease. And they have long been connected to one another. New research suggests how and why they may be connected. Having insulin resistance or type 2 diabetes raises your risk of developing the brain plaques and tangles thought to destroy brain tissue.

In fact, people with the highest levels of fasting insulin had nearly six times the odds of having plaque deposits between nerves in the brain and tangles, which are found in dying cells in the brain, compared to people with the lowest levels of fasting insulin, reports a study in the journal Neurology. And the connection is linear—the more insulin in your bloodstream, the higher your risk for brain damage.

This is just the latest in several studies linking diabetes and dementia. It makes sense; diabetes damages blood vessels throughout the body, so it has long been recognized as a risk factor for dementia caused by damaged blood vessels in the brain. According to the Mayo Clinic, many people with cognitive decline have brain changes seen in both Alzheimer's disease and vascular dementia. It's even thought that each condition helps increase the damage caused by the other.

Research also suggests that diabetes may raise the risk of developing mild cognitive impairment, a transition stage between the cognitive changes caused by normal aging and the more serious problems caused by Alzheimer's disease and other forms of dementia.

Add all this research together, and you have plenty of reasons to make sure you work closely with your doctors to keep your blood sugar well controlled.

SOURCES: Neurology, August 31, 2010

Mayo Clinic