Researches from the University of Aberdeen have published in the journal Diabetologia results that show a new link between diabetes and Alzheimer’s disease.

This study, led by Dr. Bettina Platt and Dr. Mirela Delibegovic, also reports that Alzheimer’s can lead to diabetes, instead of diabetes leading to Alzheimer’s, like it was previously thought. The paper explains that dementia complications can lead to alterations in glucose management and finally diabetes.

The study noted that type 2 diabetes and Alzheimer’s disease are so closely related that drugs currently used to regulate glucose levels in diabetes patients may also mitigate the advancement of Alzheimer’s disease.

How did they find this?

A model was developed for Alzheimer’s disease which showed that elevated levels of a gene involved in the production of toxic proteins not only led to the development of Alzheimer’s disease symptoms, but also to the development of type 2 diabetes symptoms.