Searching the Missing Link Between Alzheimer’s Disease and Diabetes
Abstract Recent studies strongly suggest a significant association between diabetes mellitus and Alzheimer Disease (AD) justifying the term “type 3 diabetes”. Studies show that impairment of glucose metabolism occurs very early in the course of AD, leading to a broad range of consequences, among which the accumulation of amyloid beta (Aβ), which per se induces insulin resistance. Furthermore, adipocytokines, recognised markers of insulin resistance, seem to play a role in the development of AD. As for insulin resistance, when AD is considered, the most studied ones are leptin and adiponectin, but also a recently described adipokine - progranulin. It is our belief that both prospective and transversal studies on subjects with both AD and type 2 diabetes (T2D) may prove the role of adipokines not only in AD, but also in this most somber association.
