(01-11-09) Diabetes reduces brain function

by David Gutierrez

Repeated exposure to the low blood sugar levels caused by
poorly controlled diabetes may damage the brain's cognitive function, according
to a study conducted by researchers from the University of Edinburgh and
presented at a conference of the nonprofit Diabetes U.K.

"This study reinforces previous evidence which suggests that poorly
controlled diabetes affects the functioning of the brain," said Iain Frame of
Diabetes U.K. "We already know that Type 2 diabetes increases the risk of
developing Alzheimer's disease, which is a type of dementia, and this research adds another piece to a very complex jigsaw puzzle."

Type 2 diabetes is marked by unusually high blood sugar levels due to the
body's acquired insensitivity to the sugar-regulating hormone insulin.
Excessive doses of insulin or other diabetes drugs may push blood sugar levelstoo low, resulting in a hypoglycemic episode -- or "hypo" -- in which the brain is starved of the glucose it needs to function.

Symptoms of hypos include blurred vision, dizziness, elevated heart rate,
hunger, fatigue, sweating and weakness.

Researchers tested 1,066 Type 2 diabetes patients between the ages of 60 and 75 on various cognitive abilities including concentration, logic and memory.
They found that the 113 participants who had experienced severe hypos in the past scored significantly lower on tests of vocabulary and general mental ability.

Lead researcher Jackie Price noted that the study was correlative, and could not prove whether hypos caused the lessened cognitive ability.

"Either hypos lead to cognitive decline, or cognitive decline makes it more
difficult for people to manage their diabetes, which in turn causes more
hypos," Price said. "A third explanation could be that a third unidentified
factor is causing both the hypos and the cognitive decline."

According to the World Health Organization, an estimated 171 million people around the world are diabetic, with the number set to double by 2030. In the
United States, 24 million people have been diagnosed with diabetes, 5.7 million are undiagnosed and 57 million are prediabetic.

Sources for this story include: news.bbc.co.uk.

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