Saturday 28 August 2010

Diabetes and Insulin Resistance Linked With Alzheimer's Risk

Diabetes and Insulin Resistance Linked With Alzheimer's Risk

New research from Japan suggests a link between type-2 diabetes and insulin resistance and Alzheimer’s disease.

Scientists with the Kyushu University in Fukuoka, Japan said people with the conditions appear to be at an increased risk of developing plaques in the brain that are associated with Alzheimer’s.

Insulin resistance happens when the hormone becomes less effective in lowering blood sugar. It is the stage right before diabetes.

Lead researcher Dr. Kensuke Sasaki said in a statement that the results of the study are alarming because obesity is a risk factor in type-2 diabetes, and more people in the world are becoming obese.

The study involved 135 people who were, on average, 67 years old. Participants were given several diabetes glucose tests to measure blood sugar levels. The participants were also monitored for Alzheimer’s disease over the next 10 to 15 years. About 16 percent developed the cognitive disorder.

Sasaki and his colleagues found that people who scored abnormally on three blood sugar control tests had an increased risk of developing plaques. Plaques were found in 72 percent of the participants with insulin resistance and 62 percent with no indication of insulin resistance.

A report on the study is published in the journal Neurology.


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