For Day 17,  Dementia Awareness Month 2015, #DAM2015, we thought the following article about some new research would be of interest to our members and supporters. The rise of Type 2 diabetes is increasing, and it is one disease that is very modifiable through diet and exercise.

Monash researchers confirm link between diabetes and Alzheimer’s disease

Type 2 diabetes may be associated with brain changes that occur in Alzheimer’s disease according to latest research at Monash University.

Published today in Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology, this collaborative research study was conducted by researchers at the Stroke and Ageing Research Group, Monash University and Monash Health, together with researchers in Tasmania and Western Australia. The researchers looked at the relationship between type 2 diabetes and the loss of brain cells and their connections.

“For the first time, we’ve shown that type 2 diabetes is associated with increased in-vivo levels of a biomarker also found in Alzheimer’s disease,” said Geriatrician and study author Dr Chris Moran.

The study found that people with diabetes had greater levels of a protein called tau in their spinal and brain fluid.

Read the full report here…

Editor: Kate Swaffer