Diabetes May Lead to Precursor of Alzheimer's

Adults with diabetes may be at higher risk for developing mild cognitive impairment, a condition that is often seen as a precursor to Alzheimer's disease, a new study has found.

Researchers at Columbia University (New York, NY, USA) looked at 918 men and women older than 65 (average age 75.9) who did not have mild cognitive impairment or dementia at the start of the study. The participants were assessed every 18 months with an in-person interview as well as physical and neurological examinations. Almost one-quarter (23.9%) of the participants had diabetes, 68.2% had high blood pressure, 33.9% had heart disease, and 15% had suffered a stroke. During follow-up that averaged 6.1 years, 334 of the participants developed mild cognitive impairment.

The results of the study showed that people with diabetes had a higher risk of having mild cognitive impairment (MCI), especially amnestic MCI, which affects memory more than non-amnestic MCI. Overall, 8.8% of cases of MCI among the study participants could be attributable to diabetes. Rates were higher for black Americans (8.4%) and Hispanics (11%) than for non-Hispanic whites (4.6 %). These figures are consistent with the higher prevalence of diabetes among minority populations in the United States. The researchers speculated that one explanation for the link could be that diabetes could contribute to plaque build-up in the brain, a hallmark of Alzheimer's disease. The study was published in the April 2007 issue of Archives of Neurology.

"There is mounting evidence that diabetes is bad for cognition,” said lead author Dr. Jose A. Luchsinger, an assistant professor of medicine at Columbia University. "The mechanisms need to be elucidated. Type 2, or adult-onset diabetes, which the study refers to, is increasing in the U.S. and in the world. The consequences of the potential cognitive complications of diabetes could be devastating from a public health standpoint.”


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