Alzheimer's: A New Form of Diabetes?

FoxNews ^ | 12-01-05 | Jennifer Warner

[Cyclopean Squid]

Alzheimer’s disease may be a new, third type of diabetes that shares common features of type 1 and type 2 diabetes, according to a new study.

Researchers found that insulin and the cells that process it in the brain drop sharply in the early stages of Alzheimer’s disease. They also found that insulin levels continue to decline as the disease progresses and becomes more severe.

"Insulin disappears early and dramatically in Alzheimer's disease. 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," says researcher Suzanne M. de la Monte, professor of pathology at Brown Medical School, in a news release.

--snip--

[Cyclopean Squid]

If true, our sugar-free club just keeps growing and growing.

[for-q-clinton]

Yeah, but the issue appears to be the the receptors receiving the insulin, not the production of insulin. I'm not a guru on diabetes, but it appears it's a different "Type" that will require a different type of treatment.

[sandbar]

I've known three people with "Alzheimers type dementia" (or Lewy Bodies symptoms really, but there is no way to know until autopsy and one of these people is my father) and all three were Type 2 diabetics.

[Cyclopean Squid]

Very likely. I'm no doctor, nor do I play one on TV. I am a Type 1, but I only know how to deal with that from my own experience. Type 1ers don't make any insulin, but Type 2ers (by far the most common type) do--it's just that they don't make enough, or it can't be used properly. So a Type 3 sounds like a localized Type 2 problem.

I'm not sure what this would mean. My grandpa has Type 1 and Alzheimer's--so if Alzheimer's is Type 3, then according to the theory he has two variations of diabetes. I don't know how that would work. Maybe the Type 1 destroyed the Islets of Langerhans in the pancreas, and the Type 3 destroys insulin receptors in the brain. Who knows. We'll see where the science takes us on this one.

[DallasMike]

Funny, I was thumbing threw a copy of Dr. Atkins' "Age-Defying Diet" last night and he said the same thing. But he's a quack and we can't believe him -- everybody knows that eating plenty of starches is the best way to stay healthy. Meanwhile, I also found this story:

Source:	BioMed Central
Date:	2005-10-17

A High Fat, Low Carbohydrate Diet Improves Alzheimer's Disease In Mice

Mice with the mouse model of Alzheimer's disease show improvements in their condition when treated with a high-fat, low-carbohydrate diet. A report published today in the peer-reviewed, open access journal Nutrition and Metabolism, showed that a brain protein, amyloid-beta, which is an indicator of Alzheimer's disease, is reduced in mice on the so-called ketogenic diet.

The report, by Samuel Henderson, from Accera, Inc, Colorado and colleagues from Belgium runs counter to previous studies suggesting a negative effect of fat on Alzheimer's disease.

"This work supports the premise that key aspects of Alzheimer's disease can be altered by changes in metabolism. It also highlights the interaction of dietary components and how such components influence the metabolic state", write the authors.

The authors believe that insulin and the related hormone, insulin-related growth factor-1 (IGF-1), are the key players. "Insulin is often considered a storage hormone, since it promotes deposition of fat but insulin may also work to encourage amyloid-beta production."

Richard Feinman, editor of the journal, explains the relation between nutrients: "You might say that fat is the bomb, and insulin (from carbohydrate) is the fuse. Most studies of the deleterious effects of fat have been done in the presence of high carbohydrate. If carbs are high, dietary fat is not oxidized and is instead stored as body fat." When carbohydrates are very low and fat is high, compounds called ketone bodies are generated (ketosis) and these compounds may play a role in the observed reduction in amyloid-beta. In association with a group from University of Washington led by Dr. Suzanne Craft, Henderson has previously shown cognitive improvement in patients with mild AD who were given a diet that raises ketone bodies.

In an accompanying editorial, Feinman says, "Although it is too early to tell how the results will fit into the treatment of AD, the implication for diet in general is also important." The primacy of insulin as a control element is the basis of popular weight-loss diets based on carbohydrate restriction. Such regimens allow dieters to regulate fat and calorie intake by appetite alone as long as carbohydrate intake remains minimal. Feinman points out, "Henderson's effort is one of several recent studies that point the way to understanding metabolism beyond the issues surrounding simple fat reduction."

###

Article:
A ketogenic diet reduces amyloid beta 40 and 42 in a mouse model of Alzheimer's disease
Ingrid Van der Auwera, Stefaan Wera, Fred Van Leuven, and Samuel T.Henderson
Nutrition & Metabolism, in press

[JoeSixPack1]

hmmm, having been a caregiver to an Alzheimer's patient for 12+ years, the only intelligent explanation I've come across is platelets attaching themselves to the brain stem, under the gelatinous layer surrounding it, restricting brain functions from working normally, and only accessible after death.

[for-q-clinton]

I'd think Type 1 would go hand-and-hand with Alzheimer's. It wouldn't matter if the receptor good get insulin because you don't have any to give it. (unless you are injecting the right amount).

[aimhigh]

Thanks for posting the diet study. Of course this will be buried, due to lack of $$profit$$ incentive. Even if a diet study on humans shows improvements, we will hear the standard phrase, "but more research is needed before....".

[Roverman2K]

Exactly, more research is needed to find a lucrative designer drug we can sell with massive side effects.
I for one am very, very sick of the feelie good, serious looking drug commercials selling everything to everybody.
Cocaine is better for you then most of these products and costs less

[muawiyah]

Obviously you are not a diabetic, although I wouldn't rule out early onset Alzheimer's as one of your potential problems.