Diabetes dulls the brain claim scientists

1/6/09 12:19 PM
Diabetes dulls the brain claim scientists - Telegraph

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthnews/4126051/Diabetes-dulls-the-brain-claim-scientists.html

Diabetes dulls the brain claim scientists

People with diabetes suffer a mental slowdown early in the disease, according to a new study.
By Richard Alleyne, Science Correspondent
Last Updated: 3:57PM GMT 05 Jan 2009
Researchers found that healthy adults performed significantly better in planning, paying attention and speed of thought
than those suffering from diabetes.
But the differences were not significant in terms of memory, verbal fluency or reaction time.
As Britain's diabetic population continues to rise sharply, the findings mean that millions of people could be in danger of
mental slow down.
The team from the University of Alberta in Canada tracked 41 people with type 2 diabetes - also known as adult-onset
diabetes - and 424 without to make the finding.
The study, published in the journal Neuropsychology, found that the mental deterioration was no better in younger adults
with diabetes than in an older group, suggesting that the damage is done early in the disease and remains stable
thereafter.
Professor Roger Dixon, the report's co-author, said that people with serious cases of type 2 diabetes should be screened
for these cognitive effects to make sure they get the right medication and advice on diet or mental training.
"There could be some ways to compensate for these declines, at least early and with proper management," he said.
Obesity is one of the principal causes of type 2 diabetes, and has contributed to a rapid rise in the numbers of people with
the condition.
About a quarter of English adults are obese, and one official forecast suggests nine out of ten adults will be overweight or
obese by 2050.
Diabetes is linked to heart disease, stroke, amputations, kidney failure and blindness, and about one in 10 deaths is linked
to the disease. This is forecast to rise to one in eight next year.