Brain
scientists are offering a new reason to control blood sugar levels: It might
help lower your risk of developing Alzheimer's disease."There's many
reasons to get [blood sugar] under control," says David Holtzman, chairman
of neurology at Washington University in St. Louis. "But this is certainly
one."Holtzman moderated a panel Sunday at the Society for Neuroscience
meeting in Chicago that featured new research exploring the links between
Alzheimer's and diabetes."The hazard for dementia is raised about twofold in
individuals who have diabetes or metabolic disorder (a gathering of hazard
factors that regularly goes before diabetes)," Holtzman says.
"However, what's not been clear is, what's the connection?"One
possibility includes the manner in which the cerebrum utilizes sugar, says
Liqin Zhao, a partner teacher in the school of drug store at the University of
Kansas.Zhao needed to realize why individuals whose bodies produce a protein
called ApoE2 are more averse to get Alzheimer's.
Past research has indicated that these individuals are less
likely to build up the sticky plaques in the mind associated with the disease.
but, Zhao looked at how ApoE2 affects
glycolysis, a part of the process that allows brain cells to turn sugar into energy.Her research found that
glycolysis helps Brain cells communicate and get rid of toxins associated with
Alzheimer's.So she offered ApoE2 to mice that build up a type of Alzheimer's.
What's more, certain enough, Zhao says, the substance improved vitality
creation in brain cells as well as made the cells more beneficial
overall."All of this together expanded the mind's strength against
Alzheimer's Disease".Another researcher described how mice fed a diet that
includes lots of of fat and sugar were
likely to create both diabetes and memory impairment.The diet caused an
expansion in useless brain cell in the mice, says Sami Gabbouj of the Institute
of Biomedicine at the University of Eastern Finland. In individuals, he says,
that could "compound" the improvement of Alzheimer's.
sleep problems are another common feature of both
Alzheimer's and diabetes, says Shannon Macauley, an associate professor of
gerontology and geriatric prescription at Wake Forest School of Medicine.She
exhibited research indicating that in mice, the cerebrum changes related with
Alzheimer's do interfere with sleep. In any case, irregular degrees of glucose,
both high and low, additionally "lead to disrupted sleep." Because less sleep is
a known risk factor for Alzheimer's. So maintaining normal glucose levels in
Alzheimer's patients could improve their sleep and maight even slown down the
disease,All of this research on animals could eventually help individualy,
Washington University's Holtzman says."If we can make sense of what diabetes
is doing to build hazard, possibly that would lead us to new targets, sedate
targets or treatment targets."
