Is Alzheimer's a Type of Diabetes?

Filed in archive Research on April 18, 2006

The possible link between Alzheimer's and diabetes has been explored in the past. But now some researchers feel confident enough to say that the disease of rapid mental impairment is actually another form of diabetes: Type 3.

When depleting insulin from rats' brains, researchers saw that the rats exhibited signs of Alzheimer's.

"True Alzheimer's disease is a kind of insulin resistance in the brain," concluded lead researcher Dr. Suzanne M. de la Monte, a neuropathologist at Rhode Island Hospital and a professor of pathology and clinical neuroscience at Brown Medical School, in Providence, R.I.

According to the researchers, the study demonstrates that Alzheimer's is a brain-specific disorder, distinct from other types of diabetes, such as the inherited form, Type 1, and obesity-linked Type 2. "This study shows that Alzheimer's is a [new] type of diabetes," de la Monte said. "It's Type 3 diabetes."

Not everyone is convinced. Many scientists feel that much more research needs to be done before this theory can even begin to gain acceptance. It's certainly an intriguing find, though. We'll be keeping a watch on this one.