Diabetes of the brain is connected to Alzheimer's, new study shows
There’s growing evidence that Alzheimer’s disease resembles a new form of diabetes known as type 3.
A National Institute of Aging study now shows how high glucose concentrations in brain tissue may result from abnormal glucose metabolism, eventually leading to the dangerous plaques and tangles characteristic of Alzheimer’s disease — the neurodegenerative disease that represents the major cause of dementia.
“To the best of our knowledge,” the study says, “this report is the first to measure brain-tissue glucose concentrations and ... demonstrate their relationships with both severity of Alzheimer’s disease pathology and the expression of Alzheimer’s disease symptoms,” said the study published Monday in Alzheimer’s & Dementia, a journal of the Alzheimer’s Association.
The study also sets “the stage for future studies that may uncover therapeutic interventions targeting brain glucose dysregulation,” says the study led by Madhav Thambisetty of NIA’s Laboratory for Behavioral Neuroscience. He’s also associated with Johns Hopkins Medicine.
Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/news/health/2017/11/10/Study-describes-diabetes-of-the-brain/stories/201711080019
