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PATH: Higher glucose levels led to greater risk for hippocampal, amygdalar atrophy
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Patients with higher glucose levels within what is considered the normal range could be at greater risk for hippocampal and amygdalar atrophy, data from the Personality And Total Health Through Life Study suggest.
“Numerous studies have shown a link between type 2 diabetes and brain shrinkage and dementia, but we haven’t known much about whether people with blood sugar on the high end of normal experience these same effects,” Nicolas Cherbuin, PhD, of the Centre for Research on Ageing, Health and Wellbeing at Australian National University in Canberra, Australia, said in a press release.
Using the Personality And Total Health Through Life Study (PATH), Cherbuin and colleagues studied the MRI scans of 249 patients (aged 60 to 64 years) who had plasma glucose levels in the normal range, as defined by WHO (<6.1 mmol/L). The MRI was completed at the start of the study and at 4 years of follow-up.
According to data, plasma glucose levels were significantly linked to hippocampal and amygdalar atrophy and accounted for 6% to 10% in volume change after researchers adjusted for age, sex, BMI, hypertension, alcohol intake and smoking.
The researchers said their results were consistent with animal literature and various studies investigating cognitive change in humans.
“These findings suggest that even for people who do not have diabetes, blood sugar levels could have an impact on brain health,” Cherbuin said in the release. “More research is needed, but these findings may lead us to re-evaluate the concept of normal blood sugar levels and the definition of diabetes.”
Disclosure: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.
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