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About Alzheimer's Disease And Type 3 DiabetesType 3 diabetes is the rarest kind of diabetes you can get. The brain has been discovered to produce insulin, when previously it was thought only the pancreas did. Some researchers and scientists think that the much feared Alzheimer's disease may be a variant of Type 3 diabetes. Studies done at Northwestern University and the University of Kansas Medical center are finding a lot of correlations. The hope is that Type 3 diabetes treatments might also help for Alzheimer's patients. Plaque Build UpAlthough more studies still need to be done, the theory linking Alzheimer's disease and Type 3 diabetes goes something like this; insulin signaling is a vital component of a working memory. When your blood sugar dips or rises way too high, you often become disoriented before falling into a diabetic coma. The brains of Alzheimer's patients cannot seem to recognize insulin. Insulin is supposed to be picked up by insulin receptors and then transmitted to various parts of the brain to give it energy. But, for some reason, this is not happening. There is a build up of plaque in the brains of Alzheimer's patients that are made up of amyloid beta-derived diffusible ligands (ADDLs). These ADDLs seem to make insulin receptors in brain cells run away. The hope is that reducing the ADDL plaque build up will help make a patient a lot better. This is still a theory, but being a lot of money to either prove or disprove it – that means this theory is being taken seriously. |