Alternative medicine (1)
- Pet therapy: Man's best friend as healer
Complications (1)
- Alzheimer's: Managing sleep problems
Coping and support (4)
- Caregiver stress: Tips for taking care of yourself
- Caregiving: Tips for long-distance caregivers
- Alzheimer's: Tips to make holidays more enjoyable
- see all in Coping and support
Definition (1)
- Early-onset Alzheimer's: When symptoms begin before age 65
Lifestyle and home remedies (1)
- Mediterranean diet recipes
Prevention (1)
- Home safety tips: Preparing for Alzheimer's caregiving
Risk factors (2)
- Alzheimer's genes: Are you at risk?
- Diabetes and Alzheimer's linked
Symptoms (3)
- Alzheimer's stages: How the disease progresses
- Alzheimer's or depression: Could it be both?
- Memory loss: When to seek help
Tests and diagnosis (4)
- SPECT scan
- Diagnosing Alzheimer's: An interview with a Mayo Clinic specialist
- Sharing Alzheimer's diagnosis: Tips for caregivers
- see all in Tests and diagnosis
Treatments and drugs (3)
- Alzheimer's: 7 tips for medical visits
- Alzheimer's: Drugs help manage symptoms
- Alzheimer's treatments: What's on the horizon?
Free
E-newsletter
Subscribe to Housecall
Our weekly general interest
e-newsletter keeps you up to date
on a wide variety of health topics.
Mayo Clinic Housecall
Stay up to date on the latest health information.
What you get
- Free weekly e-newsletter
- Mayo Clinic expertise
- Recipes, tools and other helpful information
- We do not share your e-mail address
Diabetes and Alzheimer's linked
Diabetes may increase your risk of Alzheimer's. Reduce this risk by controlling your blood sugar. Diet and exercise can help.
By Mayo Clinic staffDiabetes and Alzheimer's disease are connected in ways that aren't completely understood. Though not all research confirms the connection, many studies indicate that people with diabetes, especially type 2 diabetes, are at higher risk of eventually developing Alzheimer's disease or other dementias.
Taking steps to prevent or control diabetes may help reduce your risk of Alzheimer's disease and other complications.
Understanding the connection
Diabetes can cause several complications, such as damage to your blood vessels. Diabetes is considered a risk factor for vascular dementia. This type of dementia occurs due to brain damage that is often caused by reduced or blocked blood flow to your brain.
Many people with diabetes have brain changes that are hallmarks of both Alzheimer's disease and vascular dementia. Some researchers think that each condition fuels the damage caused by the other.
Ongoing research focuses on confirming the link between Alzheimer's and diabetes and understanding why it exists. The link between type 2 diabetes and Alzheimer's may occur as a result of the complex ways that type 2 diabetes affects the ability of the brain and other body tissues to use sugar (glucose) and respond to insulin.
Diabetes also may increase the risk of developing mild cognitive impairment, a condition in which people experience more thinking (cognitive) and memory problems than are usually present in normal aging. Mild cognitive impairment may lead to Alzheimer's disease and other types of dementia.
Researchers continue to study the connections between diabetes and Alzheimer's, and potential ways to prevent or treat diabetes and Alzheimer's. For example, a study examined a medication used to treat type 2 diabetes to determine whether the medication also improves cognitive function in people with mild Alzheimer's disease. Results showed a positive change in cognitive function.
Next page(1 of 2)
- Akter K, et al. Diabetes mellitus and Alzheimer's disease: Shared pathology and treatment? British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology. 2011;71:365.
- De la Monte SM. Insulin resistance and Alzheimer's disease. BMB Reports. 2009;42:475.
- Luchsinger JA. Diabetes, related conditions, and dementia. Journal of the Neurological Sciences. 2010;299:35.
- Bosco D, et al. Possible implications of insulin resistance and glucose metabolism in Alzheimer's disease pathogenesis. Journal of Cellular and Molecular Medicine. 2011;15:1807.
- Shadlen MF, et al. Risk factors for dementia. http://www.uptodate.com/home. Accessed Feb. 14, 2013.
- National diabetes statistics, 2011. National Diabetes Information Clearinghouse (NDIC). http://diabetes.niddk.nih.gov/dm/pubs/statistics/index.aspx. Accessed Feb. 18, 2013.
- Diabetes prevention program (DPP). National Diabetes Information Clearinghouse (NDIC). http://diabetes.niddk.nih.gov/dm/pubs/preventionprogram/. Accessed Feb. 18, 2013.
- Diabetes overview. National Diabetes Information Clearinghouse (NDIC). http://diabetes.niddk.nih.gov/dm/pubs/overview/index.aspx. Accessed Feb. 18, 2013.
- 4 Steps to control your diabetes. For life. National Diabetes Education Program. http://ndep.nih.gov/publications/PublicationDetail.aspx?PubId=4. Accessed Feb. 18, 2013.
- Dementia: Hope through research. National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/dementias/detail_dementia.htm. Accessed Feb. 18, 2013.
Find Mayo Clinic on