October 22, 2019--A news briefing during the Society of Neuroscience’s annual meeting this week offered insights on Alzheimer’s disease (AD) warning signs and risk indicators. They are still early indicators, but they offer scientists interesting hints on directions to take in AD research.
One study looked at two types of body proteins that are associated with Alzheimer’s--amyloid-beta and tau-- and checked how increased blood sugar affiliated with diabetes and even pre-diabetes might impact. Almost 10% of Amercians already have diabetes and millions more are in the pre-diabetic stage so what might be their AD risk?
Mice were injected with high doses of blood sugar and those with the amyloids showed a rise in the brain’s metabolism. What that does, the scientists said, is increases nerve cell activity which in turn could keep folks with the amyloid-enhanced Alzheimer’s awake for longer periods of time.
Another neuro leader who was part of the presentation added this insight from a related study: that even before Alzheimer’s is truly recognized by patients or their health pros, those affected by AD are having sleep issues. They are experiencing such nighttime wakefulness that they are drowsier during daytime. ###
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