High blood sugar levels may lead to dementia.
A study conducted by German researchers have found that people with high blood sugar levels performed badly on memory tests compared with those with lower blood sugar.
The research was conducted with 141 participants of an average age of 63, who did not have type 2 diabetes or pre-diabetes.
The participants had to undergo a blood sugar examination and complete a series of memory tests.
The researchers also took note of the size of each participant’s hippocampus area, which plays an important role in memory.
Researcher Agnes Flöel of Charité University Medicine in Berlin says she and her colleagues found that people who had higher long-term blood sugar levels had difficulty recalling words.
She says this "correlated long-term blood-sugar levels with the number of words people could recall on a memory test."
"We also found that people with higher blood-sugar levels had smaller volumes in the size of their hippocampus," she says.
The findings were reported in the medical journal Neurology, published by the American Academy of Neurology, adds that with this research, lowering blood sugar levels may prevent memory problems in the future.
However, Flöel points out that the study was conducted on a small scale and does not prove cause and effect.
There's a need for large clinical trials to test whether lowering glucose will help with the prevention of dementia, she says.
Robert Ratner, the chief scientific and medical officer for the American Diabetes Association, says that this study at least shows an “association. They are looking at a single glucose level in time and memory. They haven't shown that the memory loss is either due to the higher glucose level, or that lowering glucose would improve memory."
He says, "It’s not surprising that glucose levels can potentially have these kinds of negative impacts. The risk of dementia is higher in people with diabetes.
"It has been well established that elevated glucose impacts brain function and recovery in people following a stroke,"
Keith Fargo of the Alzheimer’s Association says that when the body loses its ability to regulate glucose levels in the blood, the brain will not work as well as it should.
Research done by Senior Research scientist, Rachel Whitmer, shows that people with type 2 diabetes who have poor blood-sugar control are at a greater risk of dementia.
"Elderly people with type 2 diabetes are almost twice as likely to develop dementia."
Prevention is better than cure- so how do you lower your blood sugar levels if you are in the normal range?
Ratner says this is due to “genetics, diet and hormonal response.
For those who have perfectly normal glucose metabolism, there is little they can do to change their level. The body controls glucose very tightly. The body is that good."
If you want to keep your blood sugar in a healthy range, that doesn't mean "you should never eat sugar," he says.
This means a healthy diet of a reasonable number of calories and balanced protein, fat and carbohydrate intake, he says.
Exercise is also important, because it will help improve the body’s ability to utilize insulin, making a person more insulin-sensitive.
Adds Whitmer: "We know people who live an active lifestyle and eat a healthy diet are less likely to get type 2 diabetes and dementia. Having a healthy lifestyle is good for the brain."
Astro Awani
Mon Oct 28 2013
Kemenangan di PRK KKB akan jadi manifestasi perpaduan - Ahmad Maslan
Kemenangan calon PH pada PRK DUN KKB, 11 Mei ini akan menjadi manifestasi perpaduan BN dan PH dalam menghadapi PRK lain, sekiranya diadakan pada masa depan.
Piala Thomas: Malaysia jinakkan Jepun untuk mara ke separuh akhir
Malaysia mara ke separuh akhir Piala Thomas 2024 selepas menundukkan Jepun 3-1 dalam perlawanan yang berlangsung di Gimnasium Pusat Sukan Hi-Tech, Chengdu, China.
Pembinaan Hospital Angkatan Tentera Kem Terendak bermula Julai ini
Pembinaan bangunan baharu Hospital Angkatan Tentera Kem Terendak di sini akan bermula pada Julai depan dan dijangka siap pada 2028, menurut Menteri Pertahanan Datuk Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin.
Saifuddin Nasution akui perlu baiki isu di pintu masuk negara, bakal umum perubahan
Menteri Dalam Negeri Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail mengakui terdapat ruang yang boleh ditambah baik berhubung isu kesesakan di pintu masuk negara.
Program MADANI Rakyat 2024 Zon Utara bermula esok, 196 perkhidmatan disediakan
Platform untuk memberi peluang kepada masyarakat setempat memahami dan menilai dasar serta inisiatif baharu dilaksanakan kerajaan.
AWANI 7:45 [02/05/2024] - Jaminan lulus dengan bergaya | Reformasi sistem pendidikan | RM10.5 bilion tempoh empat tahun | Fail afidavit betulkan fakta
#AWANI745 malam ini bersama Jasmine Abu Bakar;
1. Humban siapa yang bantah kenaikan gaji penjawat awam
2. Sebelum Bank Dunia lapor, kementerian sudah ambil tindakan, kata Fadhlina
3. Microsoft labur RM10.5 bilion, peluang generasi muda teroka keselamatan siber
4. Mahkamah Tinggi tolak permohonan Tengku Zafrul
1. Humban siapa yang bantah kenaikan gaji penjawat awam
2. Sebelum Bank Dunia lapor, kementerian sudah ambil tindakan, kata Fadhlina
3. Microsoft labur RM10.5 bilion, peluang generasi muda teroka keselamatan siber
4. Mahkamah Tinggi tolak permohonan Tengku Zafrul
Kerajaan Negeri, Persekutuan perlu lebih fokus noktahkan miskin tegar di Kelantan - Anwar
Kerajaan Negeri Kelantan dan kementerian berkaitan perlu lebih fokus dalam usaha menoktahkan miskin tegar di negeri itu, kata Perdana Menteri Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
Ringgit melantun semula untuk ditutup tinggi berbanding dolar AS
Pada 6 petang, ringgit meningkat kepada 4.7535/7555 berbanding dolar AS daripada paras penutup 4.7700/7750 pada Selasa.
Pasaran getah ditutup bercampur-campur, jejaki pasaran serantau
Pada 5 petang, harga penutup LGM bagi GMM 20 berada pada 755.5 sen sekilogram manakala susu getah pukal pada 716 sen sekilogram.
Perkhidmatan jet di Subang mula beroperasi pada suku ketiga 2024 - Menteri Pengangkutan
Perkhidmatan jet di Lapangan Terbang Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah (LTSAAS) di Subang akan mula beroperasi pada suku ketiga tahun ini, kata Menteri Pengangkutan Anthony Loke.