Executive Summary of Our Conclusions:

               -- What You Need to Know

There is a definite link between Type II diabetes and Alzheimer's Disease.  In a study released in May of 2004 of 824 Catholic nuns, priests, and brothers followed for an average of 5.5 years, 151 of the participants developed AD, including 31 who had diabetes. The researchers found a 65 percent increase in the risk of developing AD among those with diabetes compared with people who did not have diabetes.  This is being generally confirmed in mouse studies of the exact biochemistry involved.

For prevention of Alzheimer's this means that taking steps to avoid Diabetes is important. 

Diabetes mellitus is a common disease affecting approximately 5 % of the population.(1). Type 2 diabetes (non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus) accounts for 85-90 % of patients with diabetes mellitus.(2). Patients with diabetes have an approximately threefold risk for all cardiovascular diseases(3).,(4). and their relative risk of death from all causes is increased by 75%.(5).,(6).

--Exercise and diet are effective in preventing type 2 diabetes.
--Exercise and weight loss are effective in treating type 2 diabetes, but weight loss is difficult to maintain.
--Sulfonylureas, metformin, and insulin are equally efficacious in improving glucose control in type 2 diabetes.
--The effectiveness of intensive insulin treatment in delaying the onset of complications of diabetes has been established for type 1 and to a lesser extent for type 2 diabetes.(7)

This means that exercise, diet control and weight loss, already indicated as important in preventing Alzheimer's directly, become doubly important to avoid the "double whammy" of Diabetes leading to Alzheimer's.

For more information about preventing Diabetes, visit the website of The Therapeutics Initiative at:  http://www.ti.ubc.ca/pages/letter23.htm

 

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