People with type 2 diabetes are at increased risk for Alzheimer’s disease and other adverse cognitive health problems. A new study conducted at Umeå University in Sweden suggests that the reason for the link may be that people with type 2 diabetes have more difficulty getting rid of a protein that may increase their risk of contracting the disease.
The results may be important for further research into possible treatments to counter the risk of people with type 2 diabetes developing Alzheimer’s disease.”
Olov Rolandsson, senior professor at the Department of Public Health and Clinical Medicine at Umeå University, study leader and first author of the study
The substances the researchers investigated are two so-called beta-amyloids, which are among the main components of the plaques in the brains of people with Alzheimer’s disease.
The researchers measured the blood concentrations of the beta-amyloids Aβ1-40 and Aβ1-42 and the enzyme that breaks down the beta-amyloids in a test group with type 2 diabetes and in a healthy control group. The two groups were given a glucose infusion for four hours, which caused acute hyperglycemia (high blood sugar levels) in participants in both groups, after which samples were repeatedly taken from the subjects.
Immediately after the infusion of the sugar solution, the groups had similar values. Soon, the levels of beta-amyloids in the control group fell sharply, while the levels of the amyloid-degrading enzyme rose. In the group with type 2 diabetes, there were no changes, that is, the levels of beta-amyloid did not decrease, nor was there an increase in the enzyme that breaks down amyloid.
The results indicate that the bodies of people with type 2 diabetes do not have the same ability as healthy people to care for beta-amyloid, which could increase the risk of it subsequently being stored in the brain and causing cognitive diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease causes.
“More research is needed to confirm the results of this limited study. Hopefully it can also lead to new treatments in the long term. But the findings underline the importance of preventing type 2 diabetes as much as possible and that people who do have it should avoid episodes of high blood sugar,” says Olov Rolandsson.
The study was conducted on ten people with type 2 diabetes and eleven people without diabetes in the control group. The participants were between 66 and 72 years old.
The study has been published in the scientific journal Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease.
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Magazine reference:
Rolandsson, O. (2024). Acute hyperglycemia caused by hyperglycemic clamp affects plasma amyloid-β in type 2 diabetes. Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease. doi.org/10.3233/jad-230628.