The plague that builds up in the brain and causes Alzheimer’s is linked to diabetes. Researchers have found that people with diabetes and insulin resistance have a lower tolerance and this allows for more of the Alzheimer’s plaque to build up in the brain than in a person without diabetes.
Study author Kensuke Sasaki, MD, PhD, from Kyushu University in Fukuoka, Japan, said: “Type 2 diabetes and Alzheimer's disease are two epidemics growing at alarming levels around the world. With the rising obesity rates and the fact that obesity is related to the rise in type 2 diabetes, these results are very concerning.”
The link between diabetes or insulin resistance and Alzheimer’s are currently being studied to determine how much of the plague that causes Alzheimer’s is actually caused as a result of diabetes or insulin resistance.
If diabetes or insulin resistance is in fact the cause or a main contributor to the amount of plague that builds up in the brain in people with Alzheimer’s scientists are hopeful that by being able to better control a persons diabetes and prevent diabetes in individuals with insulin resistance they may be able to prevent Alzheimer’s from developing in people with diabetes.
Source: T. Matsuzaki, K. Sasaki, Y. Tanizaki, J. Hata, K. Fujimi, Y. Matsui, A. Sekita, S. O. Suzuki, S. Kanba, Y. Kiyohara, and T. Iwaki Neurology, first published on August 25, 2010 as doi: doi:10.1212/WNL.0b013e3181eee25f
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