(Press-News.org) New research has shown that cognitive decline in people with Type 2 Diabetes is likely due to brain atrophy, or shrinkage, that resembles patterns seen in the early stages of Alzheimer's disease.
Dr Chris Moran and Associate Professor Velandai Srikanth of Monash University led the first large-scale study to compare brain scans and cognitive function between people with and without Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (T2DM). They found that brain atrophy, rather than cerebrovascular lesions, was likely the primary reason for cognitive impairment associated with T2DM.
The World Health Organisation reports that more that more than 347 million people worldwide live with diabetes and around 90 per cent of these cases are Type 2.
Associate Professor Velandai Srikanth of Monash University's Department of Medicine said the findings had important implications for Australia's ageing population.
"Type 2 Diabetes and dementia are both highly common disorders affecting the ageing population and this research shows that there may be a mechanistic link between them. Indeed, generalised brain atrophy may be the key driver of cognitive decline in Type 2 diabetes and such atrophy is also commonly seen in people with dementia," Associate Professor Srikanth said.
"By 2031 it is estimated that around 3.3 million Australians will have diabetes. The burden of dementia in the population will be greatly increased if a significant number of these individuals experience cognitive decline."
The research built on previous studies that had shown there may be a greater risk of future dementia in people with T2DM. However, it was unclear whether T2DM was a causal factor for the development of cognitive impairment, and if so, what mechanisms may be involved.
The researchers compared cognitive function and Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) scans of the brain in more than 700 people with and without T2DM.
Those with diabetes performed less well in certain cognitive tests and had greater shrinkage in specific regions of the brain, which appeared to drive the differences in cognitive function. Although the researchers found that participants with diabetes also had more strokes on MRI, this did not explain the cognitive differences between groups.
The findings, published in Diabetes Care, will lead further research in trying to identify why people with Type 2 Diabetes develop brain atrophy, and how such atrophy may be prevented or slowed.
### END
Brain atrophy linked with cognitive decline in diabetes
2013-09-12
ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:
Terahertz time-domain spectroscopy for oil and gas detection
2013-09-12
A greater understanding of the evolutionary stage of kerogen for hydrocarbon generation would play a role in easing the world's current energy problem. Professor ZHAO Kun and his group from the Key Laboratory of Oil and Gas Terahertz Spectrum and Photoelectric Detection (CPCIF, China University of Petroleum, Beijing) set out to tackle this problem. After five years of innovative research, they have developed terahertz time-domain spectroscopy (THz-TDS) as an effective method to detect the generation of oil and gas from kerogen. Their work, entitled "Applying terahertz time-domain ...
Cilantro, that favorite salsa ingredient, purifies drinking water
2013-09-12
Contact: Michael Bernstein
m_bernstein@acs.org
317-262-5907 (Indianapolis Press Center, Sept. 6-11)
202-872-6042
Michael Woods
m_woods@acs.org
317-262-5907 (Indianapolis Press Center, Sept. 6-11)
202-872-6293
American Chemical Society
Cilantro, that favorite salsa ingredient, purifies drinking water
INDIANAPOLIS, Sept. 12, 2013 — Hints that a favorite ingredient in Mexican, Southeast Asian and other spicy cuisine may be an inexpensive new way of purifying drinking water are on the menu today at the 246th National Meeting & Exposition of the American ...
Alzheimer's patients show striking individual differences in molecular basis of disease
2013-09-12
Alzheimer's disease is thought to be caused by the buildup of abnormal, thread-like protein deposits in the brain, but little is known about the molecular structures of these so-called beta-amyloid fibrils. A study published by Cell Press September 12th in the journal Cell has revealed that distinct molecular structures of beta-amyloid fibrils may predominate in the brains of Alzheimer's patients with different clinical histories and degrees of brain damage. The findings pave the way for new patient-specific strategies to improve diagnosis and treatment of this common and ...
Darwin's dilemma resolved: Evolution's 'big bang' explained by 5x faster rates
2013-09-12
The incredible burst of innovation in animals' body plans and habits during the Cambrian explosion, between 540 and 520 million years ago, can be explained by a reasonable uptick in evolutionary rates. The discovery, based on the first rigorous estimates of early evolutionary rates in arthropods, shows that evolution's "big bang" is compatible with natural selection as Darwin envisioned it, say researchers reporting their findings in Current Biology, a Cell Press publication, on September 12.
"This simultaneous burst of life, with few or no precursors, had seemed at ...
Study sheds light on genetics of how and why fish swim in schools
2013-09-12
SEATTLE – How and why fish swim in schools has long fascinated biologists looking for clues to understand the complexities of social behavior. A new study by a team of researchers at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center may help provide some insight.
To be published online in the Sept. 12 issue of Current Biology, the study found that two key components of schooling – the tendency to school and how well fish do it – map to different genomic regions in the threespine stickleback, a small fish native to the Northern Hemisphere.
That's important, said lead author Anna ...
Autism gene stunts neurons, but growth can be restored, in mice
2013-09-12
PROVIDENCE, R.I. [Brown University] — Brown University researchers have traced a genetic deficiency implicated in autism in humans to specific molecular and cellular consequences that cause clear deficits in mice in how well neurons can grow the intricate branches that allow them to connect to brain circuits. The researchers also show in their study (online Sep. 12, 2013, in Neuron) that they could restore proper neuronal growth by compensating for the errant molecular mechanisms they identified.
The study involves the gene that produces a protein called NHE6. Mutation ...
New info on an elusive green cicada
2013-09-12
For nearly 80 years, the North American cicada Okanagana viridis has received little attention in scientific literature, but a new article in the Annals of the Entomological Society of America provides the first notes on the song and ecology of this elusive species, and updates its known range.
O. viridis is unusual in a large genus of 60 otherwise arid- or cold-adapted, mostly western U.S. species, in that it is found in the temperate deciduous southern forests of Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee, and Texas. It is almost solid bright green, and it calls from ...
La Jolla Institute scientist identifies helper cells that trigger potent responses to HIV
2013-09-12
SAN DIEGO – (September 12, 2013) A major new finding that will significantly advance efforts to create the world's first antibody-based AIDS vaccine was published today by researchers from the La Jolla Institute for Allergy and Immunology.
La Jolla Institute scientist Shane Crotty, Ph.D., a respected vaccine researcher and member of one of the nation's top AIDS vaccine consortiums, showed that certain helper T cells are important for triggering a strong antibody response against HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. Helper T cells are disease-fighting immune cells key in ...
A microbe's trick for staying young
2013-09-12
Researchers have discovered a microbe that stays forever young by rejuvenating every time it reproduces. The findings, published in Current Biology, provide fundamental insights into the mechanisms of aging.
While aging remains an inevitable fact of life, an international team involving researchers from the University of Bristol and the Max-Planck Institute for Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics in Germany has found that this is not the case for a common species of yeast microbe which has evolved to stay young.
The team has shown that, unlike other species, the ...
Dali gets a health check: Using medical devices to diagnose art
2013-09-12
Scientists and conservators have developed a new method to diagnose painting canvases from the back, without disturbing a single fibre, to see if they can withstand the stress of handling and travel.
Using the method - which is similar to the way doctors measure blood sugar without the need for needles – scientists examined 12 paintings by the surrealist painter Salvador Dalí.
They assessed the 'health' of the canvases, which are known to degrade with time due to acidity and environmental conditions. Once a canvas is brittle, expensive conservation is required.
While ...