United States – Having diabetes can significantly increase the risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease, highlighting the urgent need to understand this alarming association.
A new study conducted on mice provides insight into this complex puzzle. This study adds to a growing body of research on the links between type 2 diabetes and Alzheimer’s disease, which some scientists have called “type 3 diabetes” or “brain diabetes.”
The results suggest that it is possible to reduce the risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease by controlling diabetes well or avoiding it in the first place, according to the researchers.
“We believe that diabetes and Alzheimer’s disease are strongly linked,” said study leader Narendra Kumar, an associate professor at Texas A&M University in College Station. “By taking preventive or mitigating measures for diabetes, we can prevent or at least slow the development of dementia symptoms in Alzheimer’s disease.” “.
Diabetes and Alzheimer’s disease are among the fastest growing health concerns worldwide. Diabetes changes the body’s ability to convert food into energy.
While Alzheimer’s disease is known as a form of dementia that causes a gradual decline in memory and thinking skills.
It is known that diet affects the development of diabetes as well as the severity of its health effects. To find out how diet might affect the development of Alzheimer’s disease in diabetics, researchers tracked how a specific protein in the gut affects the brain.
They found that a high-fat diet inhibits the expression of a protein called Jak3 (a type of enzyme that plays a vital role in how cells communicate, especially within the immune system), and that mice that did not contain this protein were exposed to a series of infections that start in the intestine and travel through the liver. To the brain. Ultimately, the mice showed signs of Alzheimer’s-like symptoms in the brain, including increased secretion of beta-amyloid in mice and hyperphosphorylated tau, as well as evidence of cognitive impairment.
“Since the liver is the metabolite of everything we eat, we believe that the path from the intestines to the brain is through the liver,” Kumar said.
He added that his lab has been studying the functions of Jak3 for a long time, and they now know that the effect of food on changes in the expression of Jak3 leads to leaky gut (a condition in which the lining of the small intestine is damaged). This in turn leads to chronic low-grade inflammation, diabetes, a decreased ability of the brain to eliminate toxic substances and the dementia-like symptoms seen in Alzheimer’s disease.
The good news, according to Kumar, is that it may be possible to stop this inflammatory pathway by eating a healthy diet and controlling blood sugar as soon as possible. In particular, people with prediabetes can benefit from lifestyle changes to prevent the development of type 2 diabetes and possibly reduce the risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease.
Source: Medical Express
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2024-03-27 21:07:00
