Type 2 Diabetes Could Result from Loss of Brain Matter, University Study Says

Type 2 diabetes is the most common form of diabetes, affecting over 15 million people in the United States and amassing billions of dollars in health care costs. A new study found that the disease is associated with brain degeneration.

The type 2 variation of diabetes typically occurs as a result of older age, obesity, physical inactivity, or a poor diet. The study examined 614 patients with an average age of 62 who had diabetes for at least ten years. The study, led by Dr. R. Nick Bryan of the Perleman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, is not yet published.

The researchers found that long-term diabetes was associated with the greatest loss of brain tissue, which is understandable because blood glucose levels caused by diabetes can starve cells of energy. It can also damage the eyes, kidneys, nerves, or heart. MRIs were conducted on the patients to reveal the atrophying brains.

"It'd been thought that most, if not all, of the effect of diabetes on the brain was due to vascular disease that diabetics get and, therefore, stroke," lead study author Dr. R. Nick Bryan, in this Fox News article.

The researchers found a significant reduction in the brain's gray matter, which contains organ neurons. Previous studies have shown that older individuals with type 2 diabetes have a lower level of cognitive function and are at higher risk for dementia, especially Alzheimer's. The University of Pennsylvania study shines a more definitive light on the findings of previous studies.

Dr. Bryan says that older people with type 2 diabetes are likely to witness a decline in cognitive abilities due to the neurodegeneration, but he does not suggest that all people with the disease will get Alzheimer's. The researchers found that for every 10 years with diabetes, the patient looks two years older compared to someone without diabetes because of the decline in gray brain matter.

This study is likely to shed more light on diabetes, especially since over 79 million U.S. adults were found to have prediabetes back in 2010.