For the fourth blog post, I want to bring up an interesting topic that I have found from my externship at the diabetes trials in the Anschutz Medical Campus. And honestly, you all need a break from the sports talk. This extra blog post is catered around introducing a topic that I would like everyone who reads to consider moving forward in how they can view Alzheimer’s Disease. With my externship, we have considered Alzheimer’s Disease to be considered “Type 3 diabetes”. There are some similarities that can be found in diabetes and Alzheimer’s, believe it or not. And because of this, it allows to potentially draw some new medications that could help treat Alzheimer’s. Due to impaired glucose metabolism, the brain involves insulin resistance response. The insulin not being able to regulate glucose properly for energy demands may cause breakdown of important cells. Such breakdowns will lead to impaired cognitive function as memory is destroyed. This directly affects patients who have Alzheimer’s since they cannot think properly or perform regular everyday tasks.
As far as a therapeutic option, I am extremely hopeful we can find a solution to treating Alzheimer’s Disease. I like that there has been a biochemical comparison between insulin resistance and Alzheimer’s. The similarities in the risk factors as well as protein processing makes these pathways worth noting as targets for drugs to potentially treat Alzheimer’s. Really, we ought to be trying anything to find a solution to this disease. And we should also be looking into ways to prevent the transmission of developing Alzheimer’s. If type 2 diabetes makes one more prone to developing Alzheimer’s Disease, then more efforts should be administered to make lifestyle changes so that does not happen. I would like to learn more about Alzheimer’s and I will be monitoring how these trials go in the Spring semester. If I see anything substantial, I will share this with Dr. Campisi and others. Any signs of improvement for people in this condition will be groundbreaking, so I am excited for the possibility of being a part of that.
de la Monte, S. M., & Wands, J. R. (2008). Alzheimer’s disease is type 3 diabetes: Evidence reviewed. Journal of Diabetes Science and Technology, 2(6), 1104–1110.
González, A., Calfío, C., Churruca, M., & Maccioni, R. B. (2022). Glucose metabolism and Alzheimer’s disease: Evidence for a potential diabetes type 3. Alzheimer’s Research & Therapy, 14, 56.
Thanks for introducing such an important topic. The idea of Alzheimer's being considered as type 3 diabetes is something I've heart before, but your explanation made it clear. Neurons depend almost entirely on glucose, so when insulin signaling is malfunctioning, it makes sense that cognitive function is impacted. My grandma had Alzheimer's, and I remember how quickly her memory and daily function changed. Given how difficult Alzheimer's has been to treat, exploring new biochemical pathways feels like a hopeful direction.
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