Insulin Resistance, Alzheimer’s and Neurodegeneration

A recent study shows that for those with Alzheimer's disease but without diabetes, insulin resistance - a condition where the body's cells don't respond well to insulin - might worsen Alzheimer’s by affecting brain glucose metabolism and brain volume (Femminella GD, et.al., 2021).

In the study, 130 non-diabetic Alzheimer’s patients had brain scans and tests to measure insulin resistance.

Results indicated that higher insulin resistance was linked to lower glucose metabolism in the hippocampus, a crucial brain area for memory, and to reduced overall brain volume.

This suggests targeting insulin resistance could be a new avenue for Alzheimer’s treatment.

You can improve insulin sensitivity by eating low glycemic index food and exercise.

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Reference: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33597002/

Femminella GD, Livingston NR, Raza S, van der Doef T, Frangou E, Love S, Busza G, Calsolaro V, Carver S, Holmes C, Ritchie CW, Lawrence RM, McFarlane B, Tadros G, Ridha BH, Bannister C, Walker Z, Archer H, Coulthard E, Underwood B, Prasanna A, Koranteng P, Karim S, Junaid K, McGuinness B, Passmore AP, Nilforooshan R, Macharouthu A, Donaldson A, Thacker S, Russell G, Malik N, Mate V, Knight L, Kshemendran S, Tan T, Holscher C, Harrison J, Brooks DJ, Ballard C, Edison P. Does insulin resistance influence neurodegeneration in non-diabetic Alzheimer's subjects? Alzheimers Res Ther. 2021 Feb 17;13(1):47.