In one study, researchers found that elderly people with type 2 diabetes experience two and a half times the amount of the natural brain shrinkage that comes with age than their non-diabetic peers, possibly due to changing blood-sugar levels. Most of this loss was in the frontal lobe, where higher mental functions occur.
Another possible explanation for the link is that diabetes increases the production of amyloid — clusters of protein fibers — in the brain. The buildup of amyloid in the brain is an ongoing subject of Alzheimer’s research. Another hypothesis is that damage to the brain caused by hypertension, stroke, heart attack, or low oxygen levels from sleep apnea — which are all more likely to occur in people with type 2 diabetes — contribute to dementia risk. The metabolic effects of chronic fluctuations in blood sugar could also affect brain health.
“There are a number of ways the brain is affected by the aging process, and these mechanisms are mimicked by the physiological effects of type 2 diabetes,” notes James T. Lane, MD, the Harold Hamm Chair in clinical diabetes research at the Harold Hamm Diabetes Center in Oklahoma City.
Recent research published in the journalDiabetes Care indicates a possible link between diabetes and Parkinson’s disease, a degenerative, neurological disorder. The investigators found that people with diabetes were more likely to develop Parkinson’s disease, particularly women and younger people. Dr. Lane cautions, however, that many more studies need to be done before a definitive association can be confirmed.
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