According to Dementia Australia, type 2 diabetes can double your risk of developing dementia. The risk of developing dementia in the general population is around 10% while those with type 2 diabetes have a 20% risk of developing the condition.

Recent research from the University of Newcastle’s Clinical Nutrition Research Centre (NHMRC) suggests that the dementia link relates to fluctuating blood-sugar levels, and possibly constriction and damage to small blood vessels that send blood to the brain.

Some people report experiencing brain fog as a result of the ups and downs that are associated with quickly rising and falling blood-sugar levels, but the dementia link shows the issue is a lot more serious than simply a sugar crash.

And it’s not just the NHMRC drawing the links between diabetes and mental function.

According to the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI), diabetes ‘alters cerebral metabolism, structure and function’, as well as mood and motivation.

These are significant impacts in a learning or workplace environment but the link to a more thoroughgoing and debilitating brain condition are concerning.

Associate Professor Graham Jones, a Clinical Biochemist and pathologist explains how diabetes impacts the brain.

‘Diabetes is a medical condition that when undetected or left untreated can lead to significant macro and microvascular complications.

‘Sometimes that can lead to amputations, particularly of feet, as the smaller blood vessels at the periphery of the body struggle for blood supply.

‘And of course there are micro-vessels in the brain, so diabetes – which can lead to the constriction of blood supply – is going to have an impact there as well.’

Research conducted by the Centre for International Economics in 2016 showed that the sooner diabetes or prediabetes is detected, the greater the health and economic outcomes.

According to the report, the average annual healthcare cost per person for someone with type 2 diabetes in Australia was $4,025 compared to $9,645 for someone who had developed micro and macrovascular complications.

‘What the new research shows, and what we know already, is that early detection of diabetes is at an absolute premium from an all-round health perspective,’ Professor Jones said.

‘There are several risk factors for type 2 diabetes, such as being older (i.e over 35), having a larger waist (over 100cms), or doing less than 2.5 hours of physical activity per week.

‘For those who think they might have diabetes or be at the edge, there are simple blood tests, either a blood sugar test or the HbA1c test that will tell you where you’re at. If you’re concerned that you or a loved one might be at risk, you should speak with your doctor about it.’

The post Not just a body issue: how diabetes impacts the mind first appeared on Know Pathology Know Healthcare.

Dementia refers to a group of neurodegenerative diseases including Alzheimer’s disease, frontotemporal dementia, and vascular dementia. Neurodegeneration is the progressive loss of structure or function of neurons – the building blocks of the nervous system. The most common form of dementia, responsible for 60% – 80% of cases, is Alzheimer’s disease.

Alzheimer’s disease occurs when a protein called beta-amyloid accumulates in the brain.  When this protein reacts with copper and iron, which are found in high levels in the brain, a chemical reaction similar to rusting occurs and this damages brain cells so that they can no longer effectively transmit information.

Diagnosis and the role of research

A 100% accurate diagnosis of Alzheimer’s can only be made after death when brain tissue can be analysed under a microscope by a pathologist. There are tests that can diagnose early and fully-developed Alzheimer’s, including PET scans or a lumbar puncture, when a sample of spinal fluid is taken from a patient and measured for the beta-amyloid protein. But these are expensive and invasive procedures, so usually a diagnosis will be made without them, relying on a full medical and psychological assessment by a doctor.

Despite the increase in deaths we still don’t know enough about Alzheimer’s, and great effort is being taken around the world to research what contributes to the condition, possible preventative measures we could take, and potential new treatments.

For example, several studies have emerged recently about the positive effects of exercise in staving off Alzheimer’s. Ongoing research known as ‘the nun study’ is using the brains of a group of nuns to determine factors that may predict, contribute to, or protect against the development of the disease. This research is unique in having access to a group of people with almost identical lifestyles, diets and sleeping habits, providing near perfect control measures.

However, accurate, non-invasive, early detection of Alzheimer’s remains a vital area of research and Australia is leading the way.

A study published in Nature journal earlier this month by a team of Australian and Japanese researchers looked into a potential new blood test to diagnose the disease.

Although beta-amyloid protein build-up is one of the first signs of Alzheimer’s it only appears in the blood in very small amounts, so testing for it has historically proved difficult. The latest researchers used a process involving mass spectrometry which allowed them to more accurately measure very small fragments of the protein in blood samples. They found that the blood test results correlated well with the traditional methods of lumbar puncture and PET scan.

How does this finding help patients?

Initially the blood test will be most significant in recruiting patients for clinical trials. The ability to test volunteers with a blood test rather than an invasive procedure will make it easier to recruit more people, which is vital in the hunt for treatments.

Many major media outlets have been heralding the test as a new option for screening, but this is still a long way off. Firstly, it needs to be trialled over many years to see if it is accurate as a predictor. And secondly, given there is no cure for Alzheimer’s there is an ethical concern over telling a person they will develop a disease that they can do nothing about.

Laureate Professor Colin Masters of the Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, and The University of Melbourne, co-led the research into the blood test. He said;

“Progress in developing new therapeutic strategies for Alzheimer’s disease has been disappointingly slow. New drugs are urgently required, and the only way to do that is to speed up the whole process.

Once you can diagnose the condition accurately and specifically, then it makes it so much easier to work on developing a specific therapy.”

The post Pathology and nuns’ brains; improving outcomes for Alzheimer’s patients first appeared on Know Pathology Know Healthcare.