Type 2 diabetes and memory loss investigated in older people

[DCUK NewsBot]

Type 2 diabetes in older people can lead to increased memory loss and verbal fluency, but this is not directly associated with cognitive decline, researchers have said. The findings have highlighted the need for lifestyle interventions to prevent brain problems in people with type 2 diabetes before they become older. The Australian study involved more than 700 people who were aged between 55-90 years. Previous research has found evidence to suggest that dementia and type 2 diabetes are linked, so teams from the University of Tasmania and the Monash University in Melbourne wanted to investigate further. There were 348 participants who had type 2 diabetes and 357 who did not have the condition. They all underwent an MRI of the brain which measured its function or any changes within the brain tissue. Age, gender, education and vascular risk factors, such as smoking, previous heart attacks, stroke, high blood pressure, high cholesterol and body mass index (BMI) were all taken into account. They found evidence that brain atrophy - which means a loss of neurons and connections between them - had already begun. However, while verbal memory and verbal fluency were more likely to deteriorate in those with type 2 diabetes, there was no evidence of greater brain atrophy between those with and without diabetes during the study. The authors said: "In older community-dwelling people, type 2 diabetes is associated with a decline in verbal memory and fluency over approximately 5 years, but the effect of diabetes on brain atrophy may begin earlier, for example in midlife, given the evidence of greater brain atrophy in people with T2D at the start of the study. "If this is the case, both pharmacological and lifestyle interventions to prevent brain atrophy in people with T2D may need to commence before older age." The findings have been published in the journal of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes, otherwise known as Diabetologia. Editor's note: Keeping blood glucose levels within a normal range can help to reduce the risk of complications developing in older age, and eating a healthy, real-food diet and getting regular exercise can help to maintain healthy blood glucose ranges.

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[bulkbiker]

Err is this the usual.. "badly controlled" T2 can lead to all the nasties.. rather than everyone ever diagnosed T2 gets all the nasties? I do so wish that Jack would sometimes think before reporting blithely...

 

[Resurgam]

I would add try not to take Metformin and Atorvastatin as relearning over 300 songs you used to sing was a real pain - two years after stopping the tablets I an just getting back to something approaching my former performances.

 

[ickihun]

Well I can only speak for myself here and I find my underactive thyroid condition influences my memory and reciting songs more than my severe insulin resistance.

Tiredness of any sort will affect brain stimulation.
So
Getting good sleep whatever your health condition is my advice.
Many a young mum will tell you.

 

[lucylocket61]

considering diabetics are expected to take statins with just a total cholesterol of 4, rather than 5 for most other people, I am not surprised at this.

 

[ickihun]

considering diabetics are expected to take statins with just a total cholesterol of 4, rather than 5 for most other people, I am not surprised at this.

I wish i could blame statins but I've only ever took them for a few weeks in the decades I've been diabetic. I got horrendous indigestion from them or numb forearms.
They do get forgotten about though in side affect inconveniences of diabetic meds daily routine.
Years ago it was aspirin.
It will be something else soon.

New insulin tablets are bound to have more than IR as a side affect.