Diabetes develops when your body is unable to produce enough insulin or use the insulin effectively.

Insulin is responsible for controlling glucose levels in the blood by breaking down the glucose to be absorbed by tissues. Glucose is an important source of fuel for the body to perform all its necessary functions.

However, when insulin is not used effectively, glucose tends to remain in the blood for long periods of time.

Research has shown that glucose is not properly used in the brains of those with Alzheimer's disease, similar to how it is not properly used in people with diabetes. If the brain is unable to use glucose effectively, it might not be able to perform at its best, causing problems with memory and cognitive skills.

At the same time, consistently elevated blood glucose levels can damage the cells and blood vessels, including the ones in the brain. When the blood vessels in the brain are damaged, the brain cells die from lack of oxygen and nutrients.

Because of this, some might say that Alzheimer's is “diabetes of the brain.”

Type 3 diabetes

So is Alzheimer’s disease Type 3 diabetes? There is still an ongoing debate in the scientific community about this.

“That’s because the incidence of diabetes is significantly higher in people with dementia. At the moment, it is an association but there are certain genetic links that tie the two diseases together. Some gene variants predispose to the same pathways in both diseases,” says Professor John Todd, a professor of precision medicine at the University of Oxford.

Professor Todd adds that scientists like himself are also beginning to form the molecular links between diabetes and Alzheimer’s, but more research is still needed to fully understand the relationship between the two potentially debilitating conditions.

Prevention

Not everyone with diabetes will get Alzheimer’s, but diabetics are shown to be at higher risk of Alzheimer’s compared to the general population. Because diabetes often precedes dementia, which typically happens much later in life, controlling your diabetes is one of the best ways to prevent the onset of Alzheimer’s.

But don’t just stop there. Since up to 90 per cent of Type 2 diabetes patients are obese, diabetes is reversible if you lose the excess weight (at least 10-15 per cent of weight). This remission is possible even for those who have had poor diabetes control.

Since there is no cure for diabetes or dementia (yet), and since the major risk factor for dementia is ageing (which is hardly preventable), it’s a no-brainer that weight management might be the wiser option to keep diabetes and dementia at bay.

Listen to the podcast ‘Dementia and Diabetes’:

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