People with either type 1 or type 2 diabetes face a greater risk of Alzheimer's disease and vascular cognitive impairment. Research indicates that this increase in risk may be due to a shared mechanism: a deficiency or dysfunction of insulin, the hormone that enables cells in the body to use blood sugar (glucose).
Brain cells need blood sugar in order to function, and in particular to execute a high-energy task such as learning a skill or forming a memory. Yet a 2005 study in the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease provides evidence that the brain's ability to use blood sugar may be compromised as Alzheimer's disease develops. The researchers found that insulin levels and the number of insulin receptors in the brain fall dramatically in the early stage of Alzheimer's disease, and they continue to plummet as the disease progresses. In the advanced stage of Alzheimer's disease, there are 80% fewer insulin receptors in the brain than is normal. The researchers think that the decline in insulin and insulin receptors in the brain may be linked somehow to the death of neurons and appearance of tangles in the brain — the signs of Alzheimer's disease.
Head injury
Many former boxers develop a condition called dementia pugilistica (boxer's dementia) after suffering repeated blows to the head. The microscopic changes in their brains resemble those in Alzheimer's disease, which led researchers to wonder if brain injury might be a factor in the disease. Researchers discovered amyloid deposits in people who died shortly after severe head injury, especially in those with the ApoE4 gene. The authors concluded that less severe head injuries might trigger amyloid deposits in susceptible people, resulting years later in full-blown Alzheimer's.
Mary Joseph Foundation a non-profit international organization for Alzheimer's disease
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