Follow
A new study reveals new threats posed by type 2 diabetes – memory problems and damaged thinking skills. Kicker is it doesn’t even take that long for them to start manifesting, only about two (2) years.
The research team informed that more blood finds its way into the brain of patients who develop type 2 diabetes. Insulin is a hormone crucial for metabolizing carbohydrates taken from various foods, but the bodies of type 2 diabetes patients can’t make enough insulin to keep the levels of blood sugar under control.
This in turn causes blood vessels to dilate. Their new state allows for more blood to flow straight into the brain, which is problematic because the brain requires a very specific amount of blood to function well. If it starts to get significantly more of less, it becomes problematic.
Dr. Vera Novak, associate professor with an expertise in neurology at Harvard’s Medical School (Boston), gave a statement reveling that the major finding of the study is that she and her team have managed to connect an accelerated cognitive decline with “impaired blood flow regulation in the brain”.
To prove these finding, Dr. Novak and her team looked at a total of 40 subjects, 19 of them with the metabolic disease, and 21 without it. They were all between the ages of 50 and 85.
The researchers initially gave them memory and thinking tests when the study first started, then they tested them, once more two (2) years later. Some physical tests were performed as well – MRI scans of the brain in order to show the experts what the blood flow situation was, and blood tests that looked at the subjects’ blood sugar levels were on average.
The subjects with type 2 diabetes got lower scores on their tests in the second round, with the average drop being from 46 points to 41 points. The subjects without type 2 diabetes, on the other hand, maintained their previous scores, 55 points on average.
On the physical front, the type 2 diabetes subjects saw a decline of 65 percent (65%) in their blood flow regulation.
On top of everything, the results also showed that patients who develop the metabolic condition are at 75 percent (75%) more of a risk of developing some type of dementia.
The study was published earlier this week, on July 8, 2015, in the journal Neurology.
Image Source: meridianpeakhypnosis.com
