5 signs of Alzheimer's, and is there a mysterious relationship between diabetes and Alzheimer's?

5 signs of Alzheimer's, and is there a mysterious relationship between diabetes and Alzheimer's?

While doctors are still trying to fully understand Alzheimer's disease and discover potential treatments for the disease, here are five warning signs that you may have it, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in the United States.

"In Alzheimer's disease, the most common symptom is not just memory loss," neurologist James Liverens told Eat This Not That.

"It is as if the event or discussion did not happen. We all forget things many times or we may need some cues to display an event or some kind of specific memory information," he added.

He continued, "But we worry more about that when you have a conversation with a parent for example, and they don't remember that conversation later and even with hints."

financial problems

For her part, Lauren Hirsch Nicholas of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health points out that there are many anecdotes of patients who did not even know they had dementia when some of these events were happening related to financial matters or paying bills, for example.

"Then, the whole family might find out when they've lost a home or business, or suddenly a new fraudster has been added to other accounts and has been taking their savings."

A person with dementia may experience changes in judgment or decision-making, such as not recognizing a medical problem that needs attention or wearing heavy clothing on a hot day."

Changes in mood and personality

In parallel, unexplained changes in mood and personality are common early symptoms of Alzheimer's disease.

In this context, Dr. James Galvin said, personality changes often occur several years before cognitive problems related to Alzheimer's.

He added that knowing these signs is very important for the development of new drugs that can modify the disease. It also gives the patient and family members more time to plan for gradual deterioration

Misplacing things

Another sign of possible Alzheimer's, according to the Alzheimer's Association UK, is people losing things as a result of their memory loss.

They may misplace everyday items, such as glasses or keys, or put an item somewhere for safekeeping and then forget where it is.

Is there a mysterious relationship between diabetes and Alzheimer's?

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While type 3 diabetes is not an officially recognized health condition, in 2008 Dr. Susan De La Monte and Dr. Jack Wands of Brown University proposed that Alzheimer's disease could be called "type 3 diabetes" due to its strong association with insulin resistance.

Insulin resistance can be a significant cause of dementia, as the lack of glucose metabolism in the brain contributes to symptoms such as memory loss and a decrease in judgment and reasoning skills.

Type 3 diabetes is not a medically recognized term and is not something doctors use for diagnostic purposes. However, insulin resistance and decreased insulin signaling in the brain may play a role in the development of Alzheimer's disease. Not to mention, the risk of developing Alzheimer's disease is significantly higher in people with type 2 diabetes. As such, the term "type 3 diabetes" has been used colloquially by some in the field to illustrate these connections.

A study, published in The Lancet Neurology, links diabetes to poor brain health and suggests that treatments that restore brain insulin function could offer therapeutic benefits for people with Alzheimer's disease.