New Study Explores Link Between Type 2 Diabetes and Alzheimer's Disease

A new study indicates that the heightened risk of Alzheimer’s disease among people with type 2 diabetes may be due to the body's impaired ability to clear a specific protein linked to Alzheimer's.

"These results could be crucial for future research aimed at developing treatments to mitigate the Alzheimer’s risk in individuals with type 2 diabetes,” said Olov Rolandsson, MD, a senior professor at the Department of Public Health and Clinical Medicine at Umeå University in  and the study's lead author.

The research, published in The Astronomical Journal, focused on two beta-amyloids, Aβ1-40 and Aβ1-42, which are key components of the plaques found in the brains of Alzheimer's patients. The researchers measured the levels of these beta-amyloids and an enzyme responsible for breaking them down in the blood of participants with type 2 diabetes and a healthy control group. Both groups underwent a four-hour glucose infusion to induce acute hyperglycemia (high blood sugar), followed by repeated blood sampling.

Initially, both groups exhibited similar beta-amyloid levels. However, after the glucose infusion, the healthy control group showed a sharp decline in beta-amyloid levels and an increase in the amyloid-degrading enzyme. In contrast, the group with type 2 diabetes experienced no significant changes, indicating their bodies' inability to effectively process and eliminate beta-amyloids.

This impaired clearance of beta-amyloids in individuals with type 2 diabetes suggests a potential mechanism by which these proteins accumulate in the brain, elevating the risk of Alzheimer’s and other cognitive diseases. "The body’s reduced capacity to manage beta-amyloids in type 2 diabetes patients likely contributes to their increased vulnerability to cognitive decline," explained Dr. Rolandsson.

The study involved a small sample of participants aged 66 to 72, with ten individuals diagnosed with type 2 diabetes and eleven healthy controls. While these preliminary findings are promising, Dr. Rolandsson emphasized the need for further research. "More extensive studies are required to validate these results,” he explained. “Nevertheless, our findings highlight the critical importance of preventing type 2 diabetes and managing blood sugar levels to potentially reduce Alzheimer’s risk.”