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Review
. 2020 Apr 30;21(9):3165.
doi: 10.3390/ijms21093165.

Type 3 Diabetes and Its Role Implications in Alzheimer's Disease

Thuy Trang Nguyen  1 , Qui Thanh Hoai Ta  2 , Thi Kim Oanh Nguyen  3 , Thi Thuy Dung Nguyen  4 , Vo Van Giau  5   6
Affiliations
Review

Type 3 Diabetes and Its Role Implications in Alzheimer's Disease

Thuy Trang Nguyen et al. Int J Mol Sci. .

Abstract

The exact connection between Alzheimer's disease (AD) and type 2 diabetes is still in debate. However, poorly controlled blood sugar may increase the risk of developing Alzheimer's. This relationship is so strong that some have called Alzheimer's "diabetes of the brain" or "type 3 diabetes (T3D)". Given more recent studies continue to indicate evidence linking T3D with AD, this review aims to demonstrate the relationship between T3D and AD based on the fact that both the processing of amyloid-β (Aβ) precursor protein toxicity and the clearance of Aβ are attributed to impaired insulin signaling, and that insulin resistance mediates the dysregulation of bioenergetics and progress to AD. Furthermore, insulin-related therapeutic strategies are suggested to succeed in the development of therapies for AD by slowing down their progressive nature or even halting their future complications.

Keywords: Alzheimer’s disease; hypometabolism; insulin resistance; type 2 diabetes; type 3 diabetes.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Type 3 diabetes regarding Alzheimer’s disease and its approaches for treatment and prevention.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Brain insulin resistance and Aβ aggregation and its toxicity. Solid arrows indicate the interactions of Aβ aggregation on brain insulin resistance through sone potential pathways while tau pathology would likely effect of brain insulin as revealed in a dasher arrow.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Schematic representation of molecular pathways linking insulin resistance and Alzheimer’s disease.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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