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Review
. 2022 Sep;30(3):139-143.
doi: 10.21101/cejph.a7238.

Is Alzheimer's disease a type 3 diabetes? A review

Jana Janoutová  1 , Ondřej Machaczka  2 , Anna Zatloukalová  2 , Vladimír Janout  2
Affiliations
Free article
Review

Is Alzheimer's disease a type 3 diabetes? A review

Jana Janoutová et al. Cent Eur J Public Health. 2022 Sep.
Free article

Abstract

Objectives: This is a review article that deals with the question of whether type 2 diabetes is a risk factor for the development of Alzheimer's disease.

Methods: We searched the PubMed database and relevant publications were selected for review. The introduction, which describes the possibilities of how type 2 diabetes can affect the development of Alzheimer's disease, is followed by other questions related to this issue: May on the contrary Alzheimer's disease induce type 2 diabetes? What is a relative risk for type 2 diabetes to induce dementia? How type 2 diabetes influence conversion of mild cognitive impairment to Alzheimer's disease? What is the role of antidiabetic medication? Proposition of term "type 3 diabetes" for Alzheimer's disease.

Results: Type 2 diabetes mellitus has been shown to increase the risk for cognitive decline and dementia, such as Alzheimer's disease and vascular dementia. Despite extensive research and numerous publications, the mechanisms underlying these associations remain unclear.

Conclusions: Because of similar molecular and cellular features among type 1 and type 2 diabetes and insulin resistance associated with memory deficit and cognitive decline, some researches proposed the term "type 3 diabetes" for Alzheimer's disease.

Keywords: Alzheimer's disease; dementia; type 2 diabetes; type 3 diabetes.

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References

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    1. Biessels GJ, Despa F. Cognitive decline and dementia in diabetes mellitus: mechanisms and clinical implications. Nat Rev Endocrinol. 2018 Oct;14(10):591-604.
    1. Beeri MS, Bendlin BB. The link between type 2 diabetes and dementia: from biomarkers to treatment. Lancet Diabetes Endocrinol. 2020 Sep;8(9):736-8. - PubMed
    1. Hayden MR. Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus increases the risk of late-onset Alzheimer's Disease: ultrastructural remodeling of the neurovascular unit and diabetic gliopathy. Brain Sci. 2019 Sep 29;9(10):262. doi: 10.3390/brainsci9100262. - PubMed - DOI
    1. Salas IH, De Strooper B. Diabetes and Alzheimer's Disease: a link not as simple as it seems. Neurochem Res. 2019 Jun;44(6):1271-8.

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