Heart ailments, diabetes lead to diseased brain

Washington, June 5: A recent study has shown that people suffering from type 2 diabetes and heart disease are at an increased risk of dementia and other cognitive diseases.

Lead author Christina E. Hugenschmidt, PhD, an instructor of gerontology and geriatric medicine at Wake Forest Baptist, said the results from the Diabetes Heart Study-Mind (DHS-Mind) suggest that cardiovascular diseases (CVD) play an important role in the development of cognitive problems and these may take time before becoming clinically apparent. A report of the study appeared in Science Daily.

The research results, which appeared online, will also be followed by a print version in the Journal of 'Diabetes and Its Complications'.

"There has been a lot of research on the links between type 2 diabetes and increased risk of dementia, but this is the first study to look specifically at subclinical CVD and the role it plays," Hugenschmidt said. "Our research shows that CVD risk caused by diabetes, even before it is at a clinically treatable level, might be bad for your brain," he added.

"The results imply that additional CVD factors, especially calcified plaque and vascular status, and not just diabetes status, are major contributors to type 2 diabetes-related cognitive decline," Hugenschmidt said.

IANS