Dementia Japan 26:274-283, 2012

Association between diabetes and Alzheimer's disease─from the viewpoint of dementia specialist─

Haruo Hanyu

Department of Geriatric Medicine, Tokyo Medical University

    Type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM) has been shown to increase the risk for cognitive decline and dementia, such as Alzheimer's disease (AD) and vascular dementia (VaD).  Several mechanistic studies have indicated that vascular disease, glucose toxicity, and changes in insulin and amyloid metabolism underlie the pathophysiology of dementia.  Among subjects with AD and DM, there may be a dementia subgroup with characteristics predominantly associated with DM-related metabolic abnormalities, which may be referred to as a diabetic dementia subgroup.  Characterization of a novel clinical entity of diabetic dementia may have diagnostic and therapeutic implications.

Address correspondence to Dr. Haruo Hanyu, Department of Geriatric Medicine Tokyo Medical University (6-7-1 Nishishinjuku, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 160-0023, Japan)