http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg22029452.300-if-diabetes-causes-alzheimers-we-can-beat-it.html?cmpid=RSS%7CNSNS%7C2012-GLOBAL%7Cmagcontents If diabetes causes Alzheimer's, we can beat it - health - 28 November 2013 - New Scientist
*Evidence is growing that Alzheimer's could actually be a late stage of type 2 diabetes – if it is, we all have another big reason to live healthier lives* JUST over 100 years ago, German pathologist Alois Alzheimer dissected the brain of a 57-year-old woman who had died, demented, in a hospital in Kassel. He found tangles of strange fibrous deposits that seemed to have destroyed her brain from within. Today, the disease that bears his name is a bogeyman stalking our ageing societies. About 35 million people have Alzheimer's; most of them require expensive, exhausting care. By 2050 that number is expected to triple. We still don't really know what causes the disease or how it destroys the brain. There is no way to prevent it and no cure. Dealing with the epidemic will cost trillions. All it not lost, however. We could be in the midst of a rethink that promises to banish the bogeyman. There is growing evidence that Alzheimer's is actually a late stage of another disease, type 2 diabetes. The link between the two has been noted for a few years<http://article/mg21528805.800-food-for-thought-eat-your-way-to-dementia.html>and though it remains a hypothesis, the evidence is growing (see "Are Alzheimer's and diabetes the same disease?<http://article/mg22029453.400-are-alzheimers-and-diabetes-the-same-disease.html> "). At first glance that sounds like bad news. If the Alzheimer's epidemic is scary, the type 2 diabetes one is truly terrifying. About 270 million people have type 2 diabetes already and their ranks are swelling rapidly – among them adolescents and young adults. If they are destined to progress to Alzheimer's disease, the future looks bleak. Or perhaps not. Type 2 diabetes is largely a lifestyle disease, caused by obesity, poor diet and lack of exercise. It can be prevented, alleviated and even cured by lifestyle changes, which holds out the hope that we could start to deal with Alzheimer's in a similar way. Experience tells us, of course, that exhorting people to eat better and exercise more often falls on deaf ears. But with obesity rates levelling off in some parts of the world and falling slightly in others, there is some evidence that the message is getting through. If the link between diabetes and Alzheimer's is firmed up, there will be even more reason to take heed – and even more reason to keep banging the public health drum. Good news comes in many guises. The possibility that Alzheimer's is "just" diabetes is one of them. *This article appeared in print under the headline "Banish the bogeyman"* If you would like *to reuse any content* from New Scientist, either in print or online, please *contact the syndication*<http://contact/syndication?titleOrURL=http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg22029452.300>department first for permission. New Scientist does not own rights to photos, but there are a variety of licensing options<http://info/in216?full=true>available for use of articles and graphics we own the copyright to. __._,_.___ __,_._,___ -- -- Thanks for being part of "PoliticalForum" at Google Groups. For options & help see http://groups.google.com/group/PoliticalForum * Visit our other community at http://www.PoliticalForum.com/ * It's active and moderated. Register and vote in our polls. * Read the latest breaking news, and more. --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "PoliticalForum" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out.
