16/6/2015
Diabetes is known to cause damage to various organs but a new study published in the “Journal of Neurology” now shows that diabetes can cause damage to the brain
The brain has been on the list of organs that are damaged as stroke and dementia has already been linked to elevated sugar levels. This study for the first time shows that a change in blood vessels activity leads to a reduction in cognitive function which in turns affects a persons ability to perform their daily functions.
Dr. Vera Novak, associate professor of neurology at Harvard Medical School and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, and her colleagues followed a group of 65 older people. About half had type 2 diabetes, and half did not. After two years, the diabetic patients had lower scores on cognitive tests compared to when they began, while people without diabetes showed little change on the tests.
The research has found that diabetes can cause blood vessels to be less responsive to the ebb and flow in different parts of the brain. This can effect brain function because a part of the brain that may be active at a particular time will all blood vessels to slightly dilate to increase the flow of oxygen to the active part of the brain. In diabetics when sugar levels are not managed the blood vessels become less malleable are unable to dilate the way that healthy blood vessels do and this can effect cognitive functions.
“When doing any task, from cognition to moving your fingers, you need to increase blood flow to that specific area of the brain. With diabetes, however, that vasodilation ability is reduced, so you have fewer resources to perform any task.” said Dr Novak
What is concerning is that it was also found that diabetic patients that were treated and the blood glucose lowering medication and were managed and under relatively good control also experienced these changes. Based on this it is thought that sugar control alone cannot treat the decline in cognitive function. Novak says. “We need a new medication to improve blood vessel reactivity, cognition and brain function in diabetics.”
Click here to read how “Time” reported this story
Click here to read the study abstract in the Journal of Neurology
