Diabetic brain ages faster
There is strong evidence linking type 2 diabetes with cognitive decline, but currently only a few patients undergo a comprehensive cognitive assessment in addition to routine measurements of glucose and insulin levels and body mass index determination. In addition, it can be quite difficult to distinguish between normal aging of the brain and aging caused by or accelerated diabetes.
A group of researchers from the State University of New York at Stony Brook compared the normal aging of the brain and that observed in type 2 diabetes, and determined that neurodegeneration in diabetics occurs according to the same algorithms as in healthy people, but progresses faster. One of the important consequences of this discovery is that even typical aging of the brain can reflect changes in the regulation of glucose levels with the help of insulin.
The findings also suggest that by the time type 2 diabetes is officially diagnosed, the brain may already have significant structural damage. Therefore, sensitive ways to detect diabetes-related brain changes are needed.
To determine the effect of diabetes on the brain beyond normal aging, the group used the largest available set of data on the structure and functions of the brain in a person's entire life – the British Biobank (20,000 people aged 50 to 80 years). This data set contains the results of MRI scans and measurements of brain functions of both healthy people and patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus. The researchers determined which structural and cognitive changes are specific to diabetes, not just aging, and then confirmed these results by comparing them with a meta-analysis of almost 100 other studies.
The analysis showed that both aging and type 2 diabetes cause changes in executive functions: working memory, learning and thinking, as well as changes in the speed of information processing by the brain.
However, people with diabetes experienced a 13.1% decrease in function compared to uncomplicated age-related effects, and the speed of information processing decreased by another 6.7% compared to people of the same age without diabetes.
A meta-analysis of other studies confirmed this conclusion: people with type 2 diabetes showed markedly lower cognitive performance compared to healthy people of the same age and similar education.
The team also compared the brain structure and activity of people with and without diabetes using MRI scans. Here they found a decrease in the specific gravity of the gray matter of the brain with age, mainly in the ventral part of the striatum – the part of the brain that is crucial for the executive functions of the brain. In people suffering from diabetes mellitus, there was a more pronounced decrease in the specific weight of gray matter – by 6.2%.
Thus, the processes of neurodegeneration associated with type 2 diabetes mellitus are in many ways similar to the processes of normal aging, but occur more quickly. The progression of diabetes was associated with an acceleration of brain aging by 26%. Perhaps this is due to a decrease in the availability of energy, which causes significant changes in the structure and functions of the brain.
Article by B.Antal et al. Type 2 diabetes mellitus accelerates brain aging and cognitive decline: Complementary findings from UK Biobank and meta-analyses published in the journal eLife.
Aminat Adzhieva, portal "Eternal Youth" http://vechnayamolodost.ru based on Neuroscience News: Type 2 Diabetes Accelerates Brain Aging and Cognitive Decline.