Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2021 Nov 15;22(22):12310.
doi: 10.3390/ijms222212310.

Alzheimer's Disease and Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus: The Use of MCT Oil and a Ketogenic Diet

Junpei Takeishi  1 , Yasuko Tatewaki  1   2 , Taizen Nakase  1   2   3 , Yumi Takano  1   2 , Naoki Tomita  1   2 , Shuzo Yamamoto  1   2 , Tatsushi Mutoh  1   2 , Yasuyuki Taki  1   3
Affiliations
Review

Alzheimer's Disease and Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus: The Use of MCT Oil and a Ketogenic Diet

Junpei Takeishi et al. Int J Mol Sci. .

Abstract

Recently, type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) has been reported to be strongly associated with Alzheimer's disease (AD). This is partly due to insulin resistance in the brain. Insulin signaling and the number of insulin receptors may decline in the brain of T2DM patients, resulting in impaired synaptic formation, neuronal plasticity, and mitochondrial metabolism. In AD patients, hypometabolism of glucose in the brain is observed before the onset of symptoms. Amyloid-β accumulation, a main pathology of AD, also relates to impaired insulin action and glucose metabolism, although ketone metabolism is not affected. Therefore, the shift from glucose metabolism to ketone metabolism may be a reasonable pathway for neuronal protection. To promote ketone metabolism, medium-chain triglyceride (MCT) oil and a ketogenic diet could be introduced as an alternative source of energy in the brain of AD patients.

Keywords: Alzheimer’s disease; MCT oil; amyloid-beta; coconut oil; glucose metabolism; insulin resistance; ketogenic diet; ketone metabolism; type 2 diabetes mellitus.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Implications of insulin in cognitive performance. Once an insulin receptor is activated, phosphorylation of the insulin receptor substrate (IRS) is triggered. Then, phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K) and phosphoinositide-dependent protein kinase-1 (PDK-1) are activated, resulting in the activation of protein kinase B (Akt). Activated Akt promotes several downstream cascades and influences synaptic plasticity as well as mitochondrial dysfunction.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Querfurth H.W., LaFerla F.M. Alzheimer’s Disease. N. Eng. J. Med. 2010;362:329–344. doi: 10.1056/NEJMra0909142. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Sperling R.A., Aisen P.S., Beckett L.A., Bennett D.A., Craft S., Fagan A.M., Iwatsubo T., Jack C.R., Kaye J., Montine T.J., et al. Toward defining the preclinical stages of Alzheimer’s disease: Recommendations from the National Institute on Aging-Alzheimer’s Association workgroups on diagnostic guidelines for Alzheimer’s disease. Alzheimer’s Dement. 2011;7:280–292. doi: 10.1016/j.jalz.2011.03.003. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Hardy J.A., Higgins G.A. Alzheimer’s disease: The amyloid cascade hypothesis. Science. 1992;256:184–185. doi: 10.1126/science.1566067. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Messier C., Teutenberg K. The role of insulin, insulin growth factor, and insulin-degrading enzyme in brain aging and Alzheimer’s disease. Neural Plast. 2005;12:311–328. doi: 10.1155/NP.2005.311. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Saeedi P., Petersohn I., Salpea P., Malanda B., Karuranga S., Unwin N., Colagiuri S., Guariguata L., Motala A.A., Ogurtsova K., et al. Global and regional diabetes prevalence estimates for 2019 and projections for 2030 and 2045: Results from the International Diabetes Federation Diabetes Atlas, 9th edition. Diabetes Res. Clin. Pract. 2019;157:107843. doi: 10.1016/j.diabres.2019.107843. - DOI - PubMed