Alzheimer's could be a form of diabetes

[Dark Knight]

By Steven Reinberg

WEDNESDAY, Nov. 30 (HealthDay News) -- Could Alzheimer's be a form of diabetes?

That's the tantalizing suggestion from a new study that finds insulin production in the brain declines as Alzheimer's disease advances.

"Insulin disappears early and dramatically in Alzheimer's disease," senior researcher Suzanne M. de la Monte, a neuropathologist at Rhode Island Hospital and a professor of pathology at Brown University Medical School, said in a prepared statement.

"And many of the unexplained features of Alzheimer's, such as cell death and tangles in the brain, appear to be linked to abnormalities in insulin signaling. This demonstrates that the disease is most likely a neuroendocrine disorder, or another type of diabetes," she added.

The discovery that the brain produces insulin at all is a recent one, and de la Monte's group also found that brain insulin produced by patients with Alzheimer's disease tends to fall below normal levels.

More at link:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/hsn/20051130/hl_hsn/alzheimerscouldbediabeteslikeillnessstudysuggests&printer=1

 

[Dark Knight]

Ah crap, the link is blowing the margins and I don't know how to fix it, lol, sorry!

 

[concernedperson]

Actually, I could read it all and it was most interesting. Thanks for the article.

 

[mysteriew]

Intriguing idea. And if it is found to be related, then there is hope that with early detection, there could be a "cure" or at least a treatment soon.

 

[JBean]

Thanks for posting DK. Very interesting.