Researchers Discover How Diabetes Affects Specific Brain Area Leading To Memory Loss
Badly controlled diabetes are known to affect the brain causing memory and learning problems and even an increased incidence of dementia, although how this occurs is not clear. But now a study, by researchers from the Centre for Neuroscience and Cell Biology of the University of Coimbra in Portugal, in mice with type 2 diabetes has discovered how diabetes affects a brain area called hippocampus causing memory loss, and also how caffeine can prevents it. Curiously, the neurodegeneration that the researcher Rodrigo Cunha and his team see caused by diabetes, is the same that occurs at the first stages of several neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimer's and Parkinson's, suggesting that caffeine (or drugs with similar mechanism) could help them too. Type 2 diabetes (which accounts for about 90% of all diabetic cases) is a full blown public health disaster - 285 million people already affected worldwide (6.4% of the world population) with numbers expected to almost double by 2030. And this without counting pre-diabetic individuals. The problem is that the disease is triggered by obesity, a sedentary lifestyle and bad eating habits (although there is also a genetic predisposition), all of which are increasingly widespread. All forms of diabetes are caused by high levels of sugar in the blood, but in type 2 this occurs because the body becomes increasingly resistant to insulin - the hormone that allows the cells to take the sugar from the blood to be use it as "fuel" - leading to toxic high levels of sugar in the blood that damage nerves and blood vessels and, with time, cause severe complications In the study out now in the journal PLoS , João Duarte, Rodrigo Cunha and colleagues take advantage of a new mouse model of diabetes type 2, which like humans develops the d Continue reading >>
Effects Of Diabetes On The Brain
Diabetes has an all-round adverse effect on your body functions including the brain. The brain’s functioning gets hampered even when blood sugar is not controlled. Other than that, some disorders develop as a result of the cumulative effect of having the disease for years. Some other medical conditions also play a role in aggravating these bad effects on the brain due to diabetes. Some of the short-term effects of diabetes on the brain are - Slowing down of brain function leading to problems in cognition. Ability to verbalise is impaired along with the ability to do simple tasks. The adverse effects continue as long as the blood sugar level is not restored to normal. These findings are the result of a study carried out by University of Virginia on the effect of hyperglycaemia in diabetics. The long term adverse effects of diabetes are - Memory can be impaired leading to permanent disability in cognitive function. This is a risk in patients who have had diabetes for many years. The arteries can be hardened due to diabetes leading to stroke. Brain function can be destroyed due to this. These conclusions were drawn in a Harvard University study. The basic premise of these studies is the simple fact that brain needs large amount of glucose to perform its functions, and diabetes hampers the ability of brain cells to absorb it for use. That is why uncontrolled diabetes has the potential to affect the patient’s memory and capacity to think. Diabetics are at much higher risk of suffering from a stroke and vascular diseases compared to non-diabetics. As already mentioned stroke can result in permanent brain damage including impaired speech, thinking and mobility. If you consider the risk factors of Alzheimer’s, along with age over 65 years, high cholesterol and high blood Continue reading >>
Are High Blood Pressure And Diabetes Always Interconnected?
Diabetes is a disease that involves having higher-than-normal blood glucose levels. This is known as hyperglycemia. Hyperglycemia occurs when your body cant produce or respond to insulin. Your pancreas produces the hormone insulin to regulate blood sugar levels. Because of the reduced insulin production or resistance to the hormone, blood sugar levels tend to be high. Insulin injections are a necessary part of life for people living with type 1 diabetes. As of 2012, approximately 1.25 million Americans had type 1 diabetes. The results of one study show that AD is closely connected to insulin signaling and glucose metabolism in the brain. The brain contains insulin receptors. These structures recognize insulin. Insulin affects cognition and memory. When the insulin in your body is imbalanced, it increases your risk for AD. This imbalance can occur in people with type 2 diabetes. Scientists also looked at how symptoms of metabolic syndrome affect memory. Metabolic syndrome is a risk factor for type 2 diabetes. Symptoms of the syndrome can include: The study concluded that the connection between high levels of sugar and AD goes both ways. People with metabolic syndrome have a higher risk of developing AD. People with AD often develop hyperglycemia and insulin resistance. Continue reading >>
Kcnj11 And Abcc8 Neonatal Diabetes: Effects On The Brain
Background Around 20% of patients with KCNJ11 or ABCC8 Neonatal Diabetes will have delayed development as well as diabetes. In these people the KCNJ11 and ABCC8 genetic change affects the potassium channels in the brain in addition to the channels in the pancreas which control insulin release. This is known as DEND syndrome as the key features are : Developmental delay, Epilepsy and Neonatal Diabetes. When it is less marked epilepsy is rare and it is called intermediate DEND syndrome (iDEND) Who is likely to have developmental delay? The specific genetic change determines whether the brain is likely to be affected and if it is how severe the affect is. The more severe the genetic change affecting the potassium channel the more likely developmental problems are and the more severe they are if they occur. The commonest genetic change causing developmental problems in KCNJ11 is ‘V59M’ where most patients have moderate to severe difficulties. There is some variability between children with the same genetic change so it is not possible to predict exactly how severely a child will be affected. What type of developmental delay is seen ? The developmental delay varies from children who are very mildly affected and attend normal schools to severe effects where individuals are unable to walk or talk. Some of the difficulties that have been identified include the following: Being slow to walk or being ‘clumsy’ Being slow to talk Having difficulty concentrating which may be diagnosed as attention deficit disorder or hyperactivity Doing less well at school, especially with numeracy/maths Difficulty in social situations which may be diagnosed as Asperger’s syndrome or Autism Epilepsy – this may be present in the first year of life when patients have severe genetic changes Continue reading >>
Type 2 Diabetes May Be Bad For Brain Health
Previous research has linked type 2 diabetes and memory loss. Now, new research may be closing in on some of the reasons why. The study found that people with type 2 diabetes -- particularly those who are overweight or obese -- have thinner gray matter in several areas of the brain. These brain regions are related to memory, executive function, movement generation and visual information processing, said the study's senior author, Dr. In Kyoon Lyoo. He's director of the Ewha University Brain Institute in Seoul, South Korea. "Obesity leads to increased risk of type 2 diabetes, metabolic dysfunction and is also associated with brain alterations independently," Lyoo said. "We aimed to investigate whether overweight/obesity influenced brain structure and cognitive function in individuals with early stage of type 2 diabetes." The study included: 50 overweight or obese people with type 2 diabetes; 50 normal-weight people with type 2 diabetes, and 50 normal-weight people without diabetes. The Korean study volunteers were between 30 and 60 years old. Those with diabetes had it for five years or less, and they were attempting lifestyle modifications and/or taking oral medication to lower blood sugar levels. No one was taking insulin. The normal-weight group with type 2 diabetes had slightly better blood sugar control -- a hemoglobin A1C level of 7 percent. The overweight folks with type 2 diabetes had hemoglobin A1C levels of 7.3 percent. RELATED: Youth With Type 2 Diabetes Often Face Complications Hemoglobin A1C is a two- to three- month estimate of average blood sugar levels. The American Diabetes Association generally recommends an A1C of 7 percent or less. All study participants underwent MRI brain scans and tests to measure memory and thinking skills. "Cortical thickness was Continue reading >>
How Is My Brain Affected By Insulin?
It was used to be thought that the brain was not affected by insulin. This belief was based upon a false assumption that there were no insulin receptors in the brain. However, insulin receptors have now been discovered in nearly every region of the brain, especially those regions in charge of controlling appetite. In insulin-sensitive people, a rise of insulin after meals results in a promotion of satiety through its action in the brain. However, in those with insulin resistance, even the excessive insulin levels experienced after meals no longer result in a significant sense of satiety. In normal individuals, it has been shown that regions of the brain responsible for appetite regulation respond to after-meal elevations in insulin by significantly increasing their intake of glucose and, subsequently, increasing the metabolic activity in these regions. In particular, the brain regions most responsible for appetite, such as the hypothalamus, readily respond to insulin. This reaction to insulin results in a decrease in appetite and a sense of satiety. In contrast, those with insulin resistance have been shown to lack this increase in metabolic activity in these important brain regions following a significant rise in insulin levels. We at the Hunger Free Forever program now know that the brain becomes insulin resistant along with the rest of the body, and that this insulin resistance plays an important role in the loss of after-meal satiety that accompanies weight gain. Think of the appetite control center having an "off" button for appetite that will only respond to insulin. With insulin resistance, the appetite never really gets shut down. Hunger Free Forever: The New Science of Appetite Control From two leading authorities on appetite control, obesity, natural medicine, Continue reading >>
How Type 1 Diabetes Affects The Brain
The brain is an expensive organ to run: Most studies suggest that it requires up to 20 percent of the body’s total energy resources despite only taking up approximately 2 percent of its overall weight. Maintaining appropriate glucose levels—the proper amounts of the simple sugar that acts as the body’s main energy source—is key to keeping the brain running at its best. This can be difficult for people—especially children—who have type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1D), an auto-immune disorder that stops the body from producing insulin, the hormone that helps to break down what we eat into that vital glucose fuel. New research reported through a national consortium called the Diabetes Research in Children Network suggest that this can affect brain development in myriad ways, some of which could offer new insights into our understanding of how the brain compensates, over time, for chronic or degenerative disease. The effects of hyper- and hypoglycemia Last year, my daughter, Ella, was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes at age 10. As we learned more about the disease, we were cautioned to look out for both hyperglycemia, or high blood glucose levels, as well as hypoglycemia, low blood glucose levels. High blood sugars result in symptoms like increased thirst, frequent urination, headache, and fatigue. If high glucose levels continue for a long time, there could be long-term damage to the kidneys, eyes, and nerves. Low blood sugars, on the other hand, can lead to shakiness, anxiety, confusion, dizziness, and muscle weakness—and if not treated immediately, seizures or unconsciousness. While there’s no “perfect” number for glucose levels, it is recommended that most children stay between 70 and 180 mg/dL, checking their blood sugar 4-6 times per day with a glucometer, Continue reading >>
Diabetes Effects On The Brain
Your Brain Needs Food to Function Properly. Diabetes cuts back on Glucose giving your Brain Energy. Dec. 12, 2015 – The correct operation of the brains is critical to your overall health. As a “finely tuned organ”, the brains is very responsive to being fed by glucose that is the fuel the brain needs to function properly. If you have uncontrolled high blood sugar (glucose) as a result of either type 1 or type 2 diabetes, your brains is likely to be affected. High Blood Sugar (Glucose) is Hazardous. As we have discussed earlier, diabetes is a progressive disease. So you might not notices issues with your brain caused by diabetes early on. This is especially true when it relates to high blood sugar. Diabetes has a risk factor related to blood vessel damage over time. Small blood vessels in the brain could be damaged. Researchers feel this damage can adversely affect the brain’s “white matter.” The part of the brain where nerves communicate with on another is called “white matter.” When the brain’s nerves are damaged, you can changes in your thinking. This is called vascular dementia or vascular cognitive impairment. You can get vascular cognitive impairment with either type 1 or type 2 diabetes. In type 1 diabetes, generally, the longer you have the disease, there is a greater risk of coming down with dementia. But if your type 1 diabetes is accompanied by good blood glucose control, you are less likely to develop dementia. On the other hand, type 2 diabetics tend to be have a combination of issues that can lead to blood vessel harm. This is because type 1 diabetics are typically less metabolically fit, who have low readings on their good (HDL) cholesterol, high blood pressure and high triglycerides. Plus, type 2 diabetics have a tendency toward obesity. Continue reading >>
What Are The Best, Cost-effective Anti-aging Techniques?
Answer Wiki Now you can get the best technique there is to anti aging. You can learn from the link below. 100% effective learn directly from the source. Let me first explain why people age. One of the main causes of aging is weakening communication networks in cells between the genome and the mitochondrion, anorganelle in the cell that works as the powerhouse of our bodies. A mitochondrion is like a digestive system of the cell that draws energy out of the chemical bonds of glucose to produce action-ready molecules called adenosine triphosphate (ATP). ATP molecules supply cells with chemical energy—similar to what electronic devices get from batteries—and that helps us move, think, and overall keeps our bodies alive. The energy needs of cells, however, fluctuate, and as a result mitochondria have to adjust. For that to happen, a cell’s mitochondria must communicate with the genome, which announce the cell’s current energy needs. The problem is that this communication network deteriorates as we age, and that deterioration damages our health. The big anti-aging news, though, is that there are ways to restore the network—even when we are quite old. Many scientists now believe that nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD⁺) is the main messenger. However, NAD⁺ levels fall with age, leaving the communication pathways of metabolic regulation to gradually go bad. One way to increase NAD⁺ levels is to ingest NAD precursors—molecules the body will metabolizeinto NAD⁺. The good news is that they are already on the market. Nicotinamide Riboside One naturally occurring NAD⁺ precursor is nicotinamide riboside (NR), which has been studied in clinical trials by Dr. Charles Brenner at the University of Iowa. Nicotinamide Riboside increases NAD⁺ levels in humans, a Continue reading >>
How Do Hormones Affect Emotions?
1. Serotonin production in the brain is important to prevent depression. Datis Kharrazian’s book “Why isn’t my brain working?” offers several scenarios that can cause depression and he has examples of cases that were cured of depression. He points out that deficiencies in two major brain transmitters can cause depression: serotonin and dopamine. Serotonin is produced in the midbrain from the amino acid tryptophan in two biochemical steps. These biochemical conversions require iron, vitamin B6, vitamin B12, niacin, folic acid and magnesium as co-factors. But you also need the “large neutral amino acid transporter” (LNAA) to transport tryptophan through the blood/brain barrier into the brain. Dopamine is a neurotransmitter that is produced in the frontal lobes of the brain. It is also necessary for learning. Dopamine is synthetized by the brain from tyrosine, which has to be manufactured in the liver from the amino acid phenylalanine. You need to have a healthy liver to produce tyrosine, which needs to be transported through the blood/brain barrier into the brain; similar to tryptophan this requires the “large neutral amino acid transporter” (LNAA). People with hepatitis, fatty liver, insulin resistance or diabetes may have problems with the LNAA transporter, which can cause dopamine deficiency. But as mentioned earlier they may also have low serotonin because tryptophan was not transported into the brain. This will happen with sugar overconsumption, as insulin resistance develops and affects the LNAA transporter resulting in both low serotonin and dopamine. 2. When testosterone is missing in an aging man, this causes low energy, depression, a lack of drive and erectile dysfunction. You replace testosterone in appropriate doses and all of that normalizes. Continue reading >>
Diabetes And Your Eyes, Heart, Nerves, Feet, And Kidneys
Diabetes is a serious disease that can affect your eyes, heart, nerves, feet and kidneys. Understanding how diabetes affects your body is important. It can help you follow your treatment plan and stay as healthy as possible. If your diabetes is not well controlled, the sugar level in your blood goes up. This is called “hyperglycemia” (high blood sugar). High blood sugar can cause damage to very small blood vessels in your body. Imagine what happens to sugar when it is left unwrapped overnight. It gets sticky. Now imagine how sugar “sticks” to your small blood vessels and makes it hard for blood to get to your organs. Damage to blood vessels occurs most often in the eyes, heart, nerves, feet, and kidneys. Let’s look at how this damage happens. Eyes. Having high levels of sugar in your blood for a long time can harm the tiny blood vessels in your eyes. This can result in vision problems or blindness. Heart. High blood sugar may also harm larger blood vessels in your body that supply oxygen to your heart and brain. Fat can build up in the blood vessels as well. This can lead to a heart attack or stroke. Nerves. Nerves carry important messages between your brain and other parts of your body. Having high levels of sugar in your blood for many years can damage the blood vessels that bring oxygen to some nerves. Damaged nerves may stop sending pain signals. Feet. Diabetes can harm your feet in two ways. First, it can damage your body’s nerves. Nerve damage stops you from feeling pain or other problems in your feet. Another way that diabetes can cause damage to your feet is from poor blood circulation. Poor blood flow makes it hard for a sore or infection to heal. If sores don’t heal and get infected, it can lead to amputation. Kidneys. Think of your kidneys like Continue reading >>
What Are The Best Things To Do To Keep Your Brain Sharp?
In a nutshell: keep it busy, clean it up, feed it healthy, and encourage it to stay curious! Your brain is probably the most expensive piece of equipment you own. That’s why you should take good care of it. The good news is: there are small things you can do every day to keep it tuned to do its best work. Here are a few of those things. Tip #1. Keep it busy. Maybe you’re thinking, well I already feel like my mind is too busy with random thoughts, all the responsibilities I have, all the tasks I need to complete during the day, and that’s not even covering staying on top of news, my Instagram updates, my Facebook friends’ updates, and the emails I should be responding to right now. Don’t think tactical only; think strategic. What kind of information can you expose your brain to so that it can benefit in the long run, expand, and grow? For example, you can grow your mental superpowers with these activities: Read books. Whether it’s fiction or non-fiction that fascinates you, books are an excellent way to give yourself time to think, process new information, and learn. It’s also time that’s necessary for you to step away from the “busy-ness” of everyday life and contemplate ideas that are interesting to you. Make the time to go to a bookstore this week and browse titles that catch your eye. Get library membership and take advantage of reading books for free. Download the Goodreads app to get started with recommendations from serious book lovers and to keep track of what you read. Use your creative superpowers: write, draw, paint, or play drums. When you give yourself time for creativity, your brain will thank you. Why? Because you’re giving it ample space to express thoughts, feelings, and new ideas that are constantly being created and that need to h Continue reading >>
Conversations
A growing body of research is finding that diabetes can take as devastating a toll on the brain as it takes on the body. A new study published this week in the journal Neurology shows that people with Type 2 diabetes demonstrate a decline in cognitive skills and ability to perform daily activities over the course of only two years. These changes are linked with an impaired ability to regulate blood flow in the brain, due in part to inflammation, which is a common component of Type 2 diabetes. Normally, the brain distributes blood as needed to areas of increased neural activity. In diabetic individuals, however, this process becomes impaired. “We have shown that people with diabetes have abnormal blood flow regulation in the brain, namely impaired ability to increase blood flow and deliver sugar and oxygen to the brain during episodes of increased mental activity,” the study’s lead author, Dr. Vera Novak of the Harvard Medical School, told The Huffington Post in an email. “Inflammation further alters blood flow regulation in diabetic people and contributes to mental and functional decline.” For the study, the researchers recruited 65 men and women with an average age of 66, half of whom had Type 2 diabetes and half of whom did not. The participants were given a series of memory and cognition tests at the outset of the study and again two years later. They also received brain scans to measure brain volume and blood flow and blood tests to measure inflammation and blood sugar control. Here are some of the key findings: After two years, the people with diabetes showed greater declines in gray matter as well as impairments in their ability to regulate blood flow in the brain than the people without. Blood flow regulation decreased by an average of 65 percent in the Continue reading >>
Diabetes Ages Your Brain Five Years Faster Than Normal
People who are diagnosed with diabetes in their 50s are at a significantly heightened risk for mental decline by the time they’re 70 To prevent cognitive decline in your senior years, it’s important to eat a healthy diet and exercise, especially when you hit middle age By Dr. Mercola In the United States, nearly 80 million people, or one in four, have diabetes or pre-diabetes. What’s worse, diabetes among children and teens has also skyrocketed. The most recent data1,2 reveals that incidence of type 2 diabetes among children aged 10-19 rose by 30 percent between 2001 and 2009. The same situation exists in other developed nations. In the UK, more than one-third of adults are now pre-diabetic,3 and British researchers warn that this will lead to a massive avalanche of type 2 diabetics in upcoming years, which will have serious consequences for health care and life expectancy. Diabetes Linked to Faster Decline in Memory One of many debilitating health problems associated with type 2 diabetes is a higher risk for dementia. According to one recent study,4,5,6 diabetes ages your brain about five years faster than normal. People who are diagnosed with diabetes in their 50s are at a significantly heightened risk for mental decline by the time they’re 70. Previous research7 has also shown that type 2 diabetics lose more brain volume with age than expected—particularly gray matter. This kind of brain atrophy is yet another contributing factor for dementia. According to lead author Elizabeth Selvin, PhD, MPH, an associate professor of epidemiology at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health:8 “The lesson is that to have a healthy brain when you’re 70, you need to eat right and exercise when you’re 50. There is a substantial cognitive decline associated w Continue reading >>
Does Diabetes Target Ganglion Neurones?: Progressive Sensory Neurone Involvement In Long-term Experimental Diabetes
Targeting of dorsal root ganglia by diabetes could account for the selective sensory abnormalities that patients with early diabetic polyneuropathy develop. In this work, we addressed survival, phenotype and gene expression in sensory neurones in lumbar dorsal root ganglia in a long-term model of experimental streptozotocin-induced diabetes in rats, designed to reflect human disease. Motor and sensory conduction slowing developed early, by the 2-month time point. At 2 months, sensory neurones had no detectable alterations in their calibre or gene expression, assessed using quantitative in situ hybridization studies for mRNA markers that included αCGRP, βCGRP, NFM, tα1-tubulin, SP, VIP, B50 (GAP43), galanin, somatostatin, PACAP, HSP27, c-jun, SNAP 25, p75, TrkA, TrkB and TrkC. By 12 months, however, diabetics had developed neurone perikaryal and distal axon atrophy, accompanied by generalized downregulation of mRNA expression, particularly of CGRP transcripts, PACAP, SP, NFM, p75, trkA and trkC. With the exception of HSP-27, no elevation in mRNAs that increase after injury, such as VIP, galanin, CCK, PACAP, B50 and tα1-tubulin, was observed and constitutive levels, when detectable, trended towards lower rather than increased levels. There was relative preservation of neurone numbers at 12 months; only a non-significant trend towards fewer diabetic neurones was detected using a rigorous and systematic physical dissector counting approach through the entire L5 ganglia. There was no change in the relative populations of CGRP- and SP-immunoreactive neurones. Our findings indicate that even long-term experimental diabetes is associated with relative preservation of sensory neurone populations, but the neurones are atrophic and their gene expression is altered. This patter Continue reading >>
