Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and diabetes are two of the world’s most feared health concerns. They can both have a profound effect on wellbeing for completely different reasons. But now it seems that these two utterly different conditions have some sort of link. Previous research had suggested that there might be a relationship between the two, but a new study has revealed that diabetes is actually linked to the onset of AD, which is important for both of the diseases.
A previous study was published in International Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease. It noted that a number of characteristics of type 2 diabetes (that’s the most common type of the disease) including abnormal glucose use, metabolic dysregulation, and a deficiency in insulin, are also present in the early stages of developing AD.
The new study, carried out by the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey and Northwestern University in Illinois used trials with mice to provide insight into the relationship. Through this study the researchers confirm that doctors will now be able to follow the onset and progression of AD through a simple retinal examination. This could also provide a highly sought-after early warning of the beginnings of the disease.
It had also been previously noted that insulin plays a role in the formation of memories. It now seems that this role is actually playing a major part in the link between diabetes and AD. Molecules called oligomers, which are believed to cause memory loss in AD, attach to neurons in the brain. This actually causes an insulin resistance in the brain. In turn this results in a cycle in which diabetes causes oligomers to accumulate. This perpetually works to make both the diseases worse.
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