Diabetics at significantly higher risk for Alzheimer...( k of developing AD among those with dia...),Health

In measures of cognitive function, only in the area of perceptual speed was there an association with an increased rate of decline over time, by about 44%, when comparing the diabetes and non-diabetes groups. Since stroke-related changes in the brain were found in a previous study to be tied to a decline in perceptual speed, the researchers could not say whether the link between cognitive decline and diabetes appeared because of the changes in the brain associated with Alzheimer's disease or those of some other common age-related condition like stroke or other vascular complications. In other areas of cognition, the rate of change over the time period of the study was no different in the two groups. However, at the start of the study, the baseline cognitive function scores of people with diabetes were lower than those of people without diabetes.

"We found that diabetes was related to decline in some cognitive systems but not in others," says Arvanitakis, the lead author of the report. "Since all participants have agreed to organ donation, we will have the opportunity to examine the pathologic basis of the association of diabetes to cognitive decline." The Rush researchers also expressed their indebtedness to the more than 1,000 nuns, priests, and brothers from across the U.S. participating in the Religious Orders Study.

"The research on a possible link between diabetes and increased risk of AD is intriguing, and this study gives us important additional insights," says Neil Buckholtz, Ph.D., head of the Dementias of Aging Branch in the NIA's neurosciences program. "Further research, some currently underway, will tell us whether therapies for diabetes may in fact play a role in lowering risk of AD or cognitive decline." Diabetes mellitus is a common condition affecting about 20 percent of people over age 65 years. Diabetes is known to be as
'"/>


17-May-2004