Diabetes Linked with Impaired Cognition Skills and Memory Loss

As diabetes can cause less-efficient flow to the different parts of the body, including the brain, daily functions may be impaired. They also underwent magnetic resonance imaging to measure global and regional cerebral perfusion and vasoreactivity, and had blood tests to measure their average blood glucose levels and inflammatory markers.

Normal blood flow regulation allows the brain to redistribute blood to areas of the brain that have increased activity while performing certain tasks. “Blood sugar control alone can not treat [cognitive declines] associated with diabetes”, Novak says.

This means that people suffering from type 2 diabetes might experience drops in cognitive functions.

WEDNESDAY, July 8, 2015 (HealthDay News) – In as little as two years, people with type 2 diabetes may develop problems with blood flow in the brain, which could lower their thinking and memory skills, a small study suggests.

The findings of the study published in the journal Neurology show that after 2 years, numerous cognitive functions and global and regional reactivity of blood vessels in the brain decreased in the participants diagnosed with T2DM compared with the previously collected data at the start of the study. There was also a physical examination which included MRI scans that helped the experts get an idea of the blood flow in their brains, and blood tests that that informed on what their inflammation and avenge blood sugar levels were. The participants were tested at the beginning of the study and then two years later. It was funded by the US National Institute on Aging, the American Diabetes Association, the Harvard Clinical and Translational Science Center and the US National Center for Research Resources. Its prove that the type 2 diabetes may affect human being’s memory power.

The research could explain why people with diabetes are at an increased risk of dementia. The volunteers completed thinking and memory tests. On a test of learning and memory, the scores of the people with diabetes decreased by 12 per cent, from 46 points to 41 points over the span of two years, on the other hand, for those without diabetes, the scores stayed the same at 55 points. After two years, the non-diabetic controls showed few signs of mental slippage.

“What’s new here is they are documenting that the changes in the blood vessel in response to circumstances is what seems to be predicting a decline in cognition”, said Gordon, who is also professor of neurology and psychiatry at Hofstra North Shore Long Island Jewish School of Medicine. But unchecked blood sugar can make these vessels less malleable and therefore less responsive.

The vasculature in the brains of diabetics and a healthy comparison group looked and behaved differently as well.

“Early detection and monitoring of blood flow regulation may be an important predictor of accelerated changes in cognitive and decision-making skills”, she added.