Diabetes can Cause the Brain to Shrink

Thu, 11 Aug 2011
It is vital that high blood sugar and high blood pressure levels are brought into check as such risk factors especially in middle age can cause brain shrinkage, triggering mental decline up to a decade later.

From evaluation of data from 1,352 participants aged on average 54 in the Framingham Offspring Study, begun in 1971, researchers discovered that high blood pressure, smoking, having diabetes and being overweight were particularly related to dangerous vascular changes in the brain.

Study participants had diabetes, blood pressure and cholesterol tests and had their body mass and waist circumference measured.

They underwent MRI brain scans over a decade, the first one around seven years after the first risk factor assessment. Those who had strokes and dementia were excluded right at the beginning.

Between the first and last MRIs 19 participants had had a stroke and two had developed dementia.

Individuals who had high blood pressure experienced a quicker worsening of test scores related to planning and decision-making; this correlated to a more rapid rate of growth of small areas of vascular brain damage than those with normal blood pressure.

Middle aged diabetics experienced brain shrinkage in the hippocampus at a faster pace than non diabetics and smokers lost brain volume in the hippocampus faster than non-smokers, with a more rapid increase of small areas of vascular brain damage.

Obese participants at middle age were more susceptible to being in the top 25 percent of those with faster declines in tests of executive brain functioning.

Those who had higher waist-to-hip ratios were more likely to be amongst the top 25 percent who experienced a quicker decline in brain volume.

It is crucial that the identification of these risk factors early on in middle aged people can prove useful in screening those who are at risk of dementia and encourages them to alter their lifestyles accordingly.

It would seem obvious yet the research further confirms that a healthy body and mind are essential in older age and that not smoking, controlling your blood pressure, avoiding diabetes and losing weight are essential to remaining healthy overall.

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