The Relationship Between Alzheimer's And Diabetes

Diabetes is a disease where the body is unable to produce or use insulin effectively. Insulin is needed for proper storage and use of carbohydrates. Without it, blood sugar levels can become too high or too low, resulting in a diabetic emergency. It affects about 7.8% of the population. The incidence of diabetes is known to increase with age. It’s the leading cause of end-stage renal disease in the US, and is the primary cause of blindness and foot and leg amputation. It is known to cause neuropathy in up to 70% of diabetic patients. Individuals with diabetes are twice as likely to develop cardiovascular disease. There are two types of diabetes: Type 1 and Type 2.

No one wants to lose their mind. But the reality is that the risk of dementia doubles every five years after the age of sixty-five. Is there anything that can be done to prevent this age-related loss of brain function? Are There Ways to Reduce Dementia Through Lifestyle Changes? European researchers analyzed 1,433 people over the age of 65 to determine what lifestyle factors would reduce the risk of dementia the most. After getting a complete medical history on the participants, they tested their cognitive function at intervals over a seven year period. What did they find? According to this research, the two best ways to reduce the risk of dementia is to eliminate diabetes and depression - both of which are dementia risk factors. If both of these factors were eliminated and more people were encouraged to eat fruits and vegetables, the number of new cases of dementia would drop by 21%. There 's some controversy as to whether depression actually increases the risk of dementia - or whether it 's simply an early sign of the disease. This study suggests that depression probably does increase the risk of the disease - and isn 't just a symptom. It 's not surprising that diabetes is a risk factor since it 's associated with insulin resistance. Some studies show insulin resistance increases the risk of dementia. Another way to reduce dementia risk is to encourage people to be literate and educated. This study showed that the number of new cases of dementia would drop by 18% if

One of the most prominent and perhaps most feared condition associated with aging is dementia. The family of disorders can cause individuals to lose their mind, reducing one from being a complex, thinking, feeling human being to being confused and vegetative, unable to recognize their loved ones. Serious dementia affects nearly 37 million people globally, but predictions of how those numbers will change over the next few decades are conflicting (textbook). Although we know dementia as to do with damage to nerve cells in the brain, there are ongoing studies looking at correlations between other health issues and these types of diseases.

Throughout history there have been reports of decreased memory and mental deterioration that accompanied old age. Alzheimer’s disease (AD) was named after Dr. Alois Alzheimer who described the symptoms in a woman in Germany in the 1907 but it was not until the 1970’s that AD was considered to be a major disorder and AD continues to be a major health concern worldwide (Reger, 2002).

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a progressive and fatal form of dementia, frequently seen in the elderly altering their cognition, thought process and behavior. AD is reported in about half of patients that have a dementia diagnosis; one study states that about 10.3% of the population over 65 years is affected by dementia with an increase to almost 50% over the age of 85. (Beattie, 2002) Alzheimer’s disease is not a normal part of the aging process in humans, but rather found in a group of diseases that affect the brain leading to a decline in mental and physical control. AD when diagnosed has a very slow and gradual course, initially affecting the individual’s short term memory. (Beattie, 2002)

More than five million are living with Alzheimer’s disease in the United States and the number is set to almost triple by the year 2050. It is common in the elderly and generally occurs in persons over 65 years of age, but early onset of Alzheimer’s has also been documented (“Alzheimer’s disease facts,” 2016, para. 1). It starts in the medial temporal area of the brain, usually in the hippocampus, and then spreads to other areas of the brain. Blows (2011) explains, “Alois Alzheimer was a German psychiatrist who in 1906 described a dementia with two specific changes found in the brain after death... these changes were the presence of extracellular plaques and intracellular neurofibrillary tangles and these became the hallmarks of this disease” (p. 286). Loss of neurons takes place and amyloid plaques form. This is due to build-up of non-functioning proteins and can be observed by imaging techniques (Radin, 2003, p. 41). There are many risk factors that increase the risk of Alzheimer’s disease. The greatest risk factor is family history, but other risk factors include diabetes, hypertension obesity, hyperlipidemia, smoking, depression, physical inactivity, low estrogen levels, and head trauma (Huether & McCance, 2014, p. 546). The actual cause of Alzheimer’s is unknown, but there are genes associated with it that make the disease heritable. What is clear is that

Alzheimer's is a type of dementia that causes problems with memory, thinking and behavior. It is the most common form of Dementia which is a general term for a decline in mental ability severe enough to interfere with daily life. Alzheimer’s accounts for 60-80% of dementia cases. Based on 2018 Alzheimer’s Association statistics, there are more than 5 million Americans living with Alzheimer’s over the age of 65 (Alzheimer’s Association, 2018). Many scientists state the death rate for heart disease has declined by 11% while death by Alzheimer’s has raised by 123% (Alzheimer’s Association, 2018). It is considered to be the 6th leading cause of death in the United States (Alzheimer’s Association, 2018). Alzheimer’s disease(AD) is an abnormal aging

Alzheimer’s disease is characterized by the development of plaque or protein deposits in the brain, especially areas associated with memory. Brain neurons collapse, crumble, and lose connections with other neurons which causes disorientation, confusion, erratic behavior, and partial to complete memory loss. (Trivedi, Bijal, 2012). While a poor sensitivity to insulin is associated with type 2 diabetes, some researchers including Dr. Suzanne de la Monte, a neuropathologist at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island, have suggested that Alzheimer’s disease may in fact be another type of diabetes. If these scientists are correct in their suppositions about diabetes and dementia, immediate and troubling concerns are going to present overwhelming challenges to the medical and senior care systems. Ewan McNay, of the University of Albany in New York states that “if the epidemic of type 2 diabetes continues on its current trajectory, it is likely to be followed by an epidemic of dementia” (Trivedi, Bijal, 2012). Alzheimer 's disease is increased in individuals with diabetes. Higher glucose levels in individuals without diabetes has also been associated with elevated occurrences of Alzheimer 's disease. These findings

Dementia is a syndrome which is progressive in nature, characterized by impairment of memory and loss of intellectual ability.1 Decreased level of Acetylcholine in the brain, neuro-inflammatory reaction, rise in the oxidative stress and hypercholesterolemia have been reported to play an important etiological role in the memory decline.2 Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) is the most common form of dementia which is a progressive and a neurodegenerative disease characterized by the presence of senile plaques rich in insoluble aggregates of β amyloid and neurofibrillary tangles in the brain. AD has been estimated to account for 50–60% of dementia cases in persons over 65 years of age worldwide.3 Alzheimer’s Disease International

We’ve all heard of it. We’ve read articles about it and seen it on movies such as “The Notebook.” Most of us have family members or friends who suffer from it. So why is it that most individuals still don’t know what it is? According to the Alzheimer’s association, over five million Americans are living with Alzheimer’s disease. It is also noted that Alzheimer’s disease is the sixth leading cause of death in the US, causing more fatalities than breast and prostate cancer patients combined. With that being said, how many commercials have you seen about Alzheimer’s awareness? How many 5k’s and walk-a-thons have you seen advertised opposed to cancer awareness? My purpose with this paper is to shed light on Alzheimer’s and dementia disease and

Dementia is just one of the many illnesses that is plaguing older and senior Americans. Dementia and Alzheimer’s are looked at as the top two illnesses that is said to decline the health of so many.

My great grandmother suffered from Early- onset Alzheimer’s Disease, Parkinson’s Disease, and Diabetes. As a child, I remember always watching her keep an eye on her insulin levels, having a hard time holding things because her hands shook too much, and eventually forgetting most of the conversations we had. Now being able to understand why or how these diseases are brought up really caught my attention throughout this chapter. Prior to reading the chapter, I had never given much thought to the fact that Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and Diabetes all seem to have created issues in my family’s past.

As the leading cause for dementia, Alzheimer’s disease –AD-, effects more than 25 million people in the world (Perrone & Grant, 2015, p. 1).The neurodegenerative disorder, results in behavioral changes, as well as cognitive including, loss of memory and language skills ( Mayo Clinic Staff, 2014). Researchers have tracked two leading abnormalities resulting in Alzheimer’s. These two are, amyloid plaques-clumps of protein which form in and around the neurons- and neurofibrillary tangles- insoluble fibers made up mostly of tau protein- (Mayo Clinic Staff, 2014). Although both are a prevalent indication of AD, scientist have not been able to indicate whether these are merely a byproduct or a cause. Hence, call for epidemiological research is ongoing. Earlier studies have suggested a link between diabetes- specifically, Type 2 diabetes mellitus- and AD (Paddock, 2015). These observations suggest the metabolic processing of glucose is abnormal, and this plays a role in AD pathogenesis (Macauley et al., 2015).Recently, studies have linked, a dietary relevance of advanced glycogen end products, or AGEs, to the incidence of AD (Perrone & Grant, 2015, p. 2). AGEs are also called glycotoxins, because they increase the risk of diseases such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and several other aging related-diseases, such as AD (Perrone & Grant, 2015, p. 2). More on, as with diabetes and AGEs , researchers have directly linked high blood sugar to the production of beta-amyloid, in

Does antidiabetic medication create a possible risk for increased cognitive decline in older adults? In 2013, over 5 million older adults were estimated to have some form of cognitive decline, and it was estimated that 29.5 million older adults have type 2 diabetes. This is the largest increase for adults 65 and older in the United States (Alzheimer’s, 2015). As people continue to live longer the increase of type 2 diabetes in skilled nursing facilities has also grown from 16 to 23 percent (Zhang, 2010). Although, medications are used and needed for both conditions, type 2 diabetes can be a self-care and controllable disease through diet and increased exercise, yet cognitive decline only worsens over time.

Psychology is an applied as well as an academic field that studies both the human mind and behavior. The research in psychology attempts to explain and understand behavior, emotion and thought. The subject of psychology was created when Wilhelm Wundt opened up the very first psychology lab in Leipzig, Germany. Wilhelm Wundt believed that individuals who are appropriately trained would most likely be able to recognize the mental processes that are accompanied with feelings, thoughts and sensations (Wagner , 2009).