Health
Diabetes 'rewires' the brain in surprising way, study finds
Diabetes is known to cause many medical issues, from heart disease to vision problems — and now a new study suggests it could also impact memory and other cognitive functions.
After observing brain activity and behavior in rodent models, researchers at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) determined that type 2 diabetes can “rewire” the brain in ways similar to early-onset Alzheimer’s disease.
“Diabetes may be altering the brain similarly to early stages of Alzheimer’s disease,” said lead researcher and UNLV psychology professor James Hyman in the release.
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“Further research is needed, but these findings have the potential to help researchers unlock clues to improved diagnostic or treatment strategies for the disease.”
Diabetes has been shown to impact memory and other cognitive functions. (iStock)
The study was funded by the National Institutes of Health and published in The Journal of Neuroscience.
Previous studies have shown that people with type 2 diabetes have a higher risk of developing neurodegenerative disorders.
“Diabetes may be altering the brain similarly to early stages of Alzheimer’s disease.”
The reason, the researchers hypothesized, is that high blood sugar levels may impact the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), a part of the brain that is involved in cognitive and emotional functions, according to a UNLV press release.
The ACC is linked to key cognitive processes like motivation, decision-making, goal-tracking, pleasure-seeking, reward processing and regulation of emotions, according to the researchers.
In people with diabetes, high blood sugar impairs reward signals from the hippocampus (the part of the brain that controls memory and learning) to the ACC.
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“Rewards, or achieving goals, are important to helping us make future decisions, so if our brains are responding differently, it’s likely our future decisions will be different,” Hyman told Fox News Digital.
“This has big implications for those managing their type 2 diabetes, since compliance with testing and lifestyle changes are key aspects.”
Researchers determined that type 2 diabetes can “rewire” the brain in ways similar to early-onset Alzheimer’s disease. (iStock)
This could also explain why it is so hard for many people to stick with new diets and exercise regimens, Hyman noted, because their brains don’t respond to normally rewarding events due to the disease.
“This knowledge can help people persevere and remain diligent, since their failures are not due to personal weakness, but altered brain physiology,” he said.
“This kind of research opens new avenues not just for Alzheimer’s patients, but also for other diseases that impact the brain.”
Dr. Adam Scioli, chief medical officer at Caron Treatment Centers in Pennsylvania, said it is known that the reward system of the brain helps to imprint memory.
“It makes sense that any substance – like sugar – that impacts and overwhelms that reward system can have lasting impacts on cognitive and working memory,” Scioli, who was not involved in the study, told Fox News Digital.
The concept of reward and memory in type 2 diabetes has some similarities to addiction, according to the expert.
“Both conditions also involve altered hippocampus-ACC connectivity, which affects goal-oriented behavior and memory processing,” he said.
High blood sugar levels may impact the anterior cingulate cortex, a part of the brain that is involved in cognitive and emotional functions, the study found. (iStock)
“This kind of research opens new avenues not just for Alzheimer’s patients, but also for other diseases that impact the brain,” Scioli added.
“It also provides an avenue where we might be able to intervene earlier in these diseases and prevent or mitigate cognitive decline.”
More research needed
There were some limitations to the study, the researchers acknowledged.
“This was a study in rodents, so the translation to human conditions is challenging,” Hyman told Fox News Digital.
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“Additionally, we only modeled one aspect of type 2 diabetes — chronic hyperglycemia — and in humans there are more symptoms than that. It’s possible those other aspects may have different, either compounding or allaying, impacts.”
Hyman’s team plans to conduct further research into the connection between diabetes and brain function.
“Be patient and understand that the disease has rewired your brain.”
“Alzheimer’s disease goes undetected for decades because our brains are good at finding ways to compensate,” he said.
“Before diagnosis, people behave normally despite having changes in information processing. We even observed that in this study.”
Based on these findings, the researchers recommend that people monitor their own blood glucose levels. (iStock)
Based on these findings, Hyman hopes that people will be more likely to monitor their own blood glucose levels.
“If diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, be sure to follow doctors’ orders closely and keep blood glucose levels stable,” he advised. “We think it’s the spikes of extremely low and high blood glucose that make people more vulnerable to Alzheimer’s.”
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For those having trouble with lifestyle changes, Hyman urged them to “not be so hard on yourself.”
“Be patient and understand that the disease has rewired your brain.”
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Journalist Katie Couric is sharing a scary medical episode that she experienced on June 27.
In a post on Substack titled “The Day I’ll Never Remember,” she detailed a sudden episode that left her unable to recall the current month, year and president.
“I thought it was 2024. And I believed Joe Biden was president,” she wrote.
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The event occurred while Couric was attending the Aspen Ideas Festival in Colorado, during which she participated in two public panels — one on AI and one on journalism — both of which she cannot remember at all.
“I have no idea what we talked about, or of what occurred when the panels ended,” she said.
Journalist Katie Couric is sharing a scary medical episode that she experienced on June 27. (Getty Images)
John Molner — Couric’s husband, who was in attendance at the festival and the two panels — also shared his account.
After the event, someone told Molner that Katie wasn’t feeling well. When he reached her, an EMT and a doctor were tending to her. “I could tell something was off,” he wrote. “It could have been altitude sickness, but Katie was definitely not all there.”
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At the hospital, when Couric struggled to recall the year, the president and her grandchildren’s names, doctors began checking for a stroke.
An MRI revealed no signs of stroke, which was a relief, but “Katie’s ‘fog’ became a lot more apparent,” Molner wrote.
John Molner, Couric’s husband, who was in attendance at the festival and the two panels, also shared his account. (Getty Images)
“She repeatedly asked me the same questions: ‘What was I doing before we got to the hospital?’ ‘Why am I at the hospital?’”
Couric was ultimately diagnosed with transient global amnesia, a sudden, temporary episode of memory loss that prevents a person from forming new memories and may also erase some recent memories, according to Mayo Clinic.
“The cause seems to be as mysterious as the brain itself.”
It is not caused by a stroke, seizure or head injury, and it usually resolves completely within 24 hours.
“[It’s] just a very weird neural episode that’s pretty uncommon and, at least in most cases, is a ‘one and done’ experience,” Molner said.
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Couric said she finally began feeling “like herself” again around 9 p.m. and went to sleep at 2 a.m.
As TGA leaves a “permanent gap in memory” for the duration of the episode and for hours beforehand, Couric said that from around noon on that day until at least 7 p.m. will remain a “big, black hole.”
As TGA leaves a “permanent gap in memory” for the duration of the episode and for hours beforehand, Couric said that from around noon on that day until at least 7 p.m. will remain a “big, black hole.” (Getty Images)
Data shows that approximately three to eight people per 100,000 will have an episode of transient global amnesia, with people 50 years of age and older at higher risk.
The specific cause of TGA is not known, but some experts believe it stems from a “temporary dysfunction in the brain’s hippocampus — the area responsible for creating new memories,” Couric shared.
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“Doctors believe this is driven by brief interruptions in blood or oxygen flow, or microscopic spasm in the blood vessels.”
Episodes could potentially be triggered by intense physical exertion, emotional distress, extreme temperature changes or migraines, experts say.
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Approximately 15% of patients will have a recurrence 10 years later.
“Why did this happen to me? Was the altitude an issue? Was I dehydrated? Tired? Stressed? The literature doesn’t seem to indicate that these are contributing factors, but the cause seems to be as mysterious as the brain itself,” Couric wrote.
Anyone who experiences sudden memory loss, confusion, difficulty speaking, weakness, numbness, vision changes, severe headache or other stroke-like symptoms should seek immediate medical attention or call 911, doctors advise. (iStock)
“All I know is that those hours will be forever lost. Someone described it as my brain failing to hit the ‘record button.’”
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“While this was a freaky occurrence, it could have been much more serious. So ultimately, I’m relieved — even though several hours of a Saturday in June will always be missing for me.”
Anyone who experiences sudden memory loss, confusion, difficulty speaking, weakness, numbness, vision changes, severe headache or other stroke-like symptoms should seek immediate medical attention or call 911, doctors advise.
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Older adults identified as “super movers” are about half as likely to develop cognitive impairment than their peers.
That’s according to a recent study led by Stony Brook Medicine in New York, which evaluated the cognitive function of 4,000 adults 80 and over who participated in multiple aging and longevity studies over several years.
Among this group, 6% to 10% were classified as super movers, which means they walk at a much faster pace than others of the same age and gender — at speeds comparable to people three decades younger.
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The super movers were found to have about half the risk of cognitive decline compared to seniors with typical gait speed.
The findings were published in the journal Neurology on June 16.
Older adults identified as “super movers” are about half as likely to develop cognitive impairment than their peers. (iStock)
“The study reinforces that mobility and brain health are closely connected,” lead study author Dr. Joe Verghese, MD, neurologist at Stony Brook Medicine, told Fox News Digital. “This suggests that preserving mobility may be an important marker of healthy brain aging and resilience.”
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The most intriguing finding, according to Verghese, was that super movers maintained cognitive function despite having similar dementia-related brain changes as their peers.
In postmortem brain analysis, there was no difference in dementia-related pathologies between the super movers and the slower walkers, the study stated.
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“This suggests they may possess resilience mechanisms that help preserve brain function even in the presence of age-related changes,” he said. “Understanding these resilience factors could lead to new strategies for promoting healthy brain aging.”
As the study was observational, there were some limitations, and it does not prove that walking faster prevents dementia, the researchers noted.
Super movers were found to have about half the risk of cognitive decline compared to seniors with typical gait speed. (iStock)
“Other factors, such as cardiovascular health, physical fitness or genetics, may also contribute to both faster walking and better cognitive outcomes,” Verghese said.
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This study adds to growing evidence that what’s good for the heart and muscles also benefits the brain, he noted, adding that “staying physically active remains one of the most effective, evidence-based ways to support healthy aging.”
“Walking speed is best viewed as a marker of overall health, not a treatment.”
“The broader message is that physical activity is important at any age,” Verghese said. “Walking is an easy step-up point because you don’t need any special equipment. You can do it inside or outdoors, and you can do it on a regular basis. You can walk with a dog, you can walk with a friend.”
Any activity is beneficial if it’s done regularly and with the right intensity, he added.
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Rather than just trying to walk faster, the neurologist recommends that seniors focus on maintaining mobility through regular physical activity, strength training, balance exercises and good cardiovascular health.
“Walking speed is best viewed as a marker of overall health, not a treatment,” Verghese noted.
Major public health guidelines from the CDC and U.S. Physical Activity Guidelines recommend at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic activity each week, such as brisk walking.
Major public health guidelines from the CDC and U.S. Physical Activity Guidelines recommend at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic activity each week, such as brisk walking. (iStock)
This can be achieved by walking 30 minutes a day, five days a week, or about 20 to 25 minutes most days. Another option is to engage in shorter sessions that add up over the day.
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“You have to do it within your health limitations and medical conditions,” Verghese advised. “So if there are any medical concerns, I would get your physician to clear you before starting exercise.” The good thing about walking, he added, is that you can start at a slow pace and then gradually build up to a brisker pace.
“And then adding on strength and balance training, whatever age you are, I think is also important.”
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