The Correlation Between Type 3 Diabetes and Alzheimer’s Disease

Wooden puzzle shaped like the human brain with puzzle pieces beside it

Diabetes mellitus (diabetes for short) is a health condition where your body has difficulty converting sugar to energy. Diabetes has been documented since 1552 B.C, when Hesy-Ra, an Egyptian physician, documented the symptom of frequent urination as a symptom of a mystery disease that also caused emaciation.

As of today, there are more than 37 million Americans that have diabetes which is about one in ten people with more than 90% having type 2. Diabetes is one of the most prominent diseases with 1.4 million more people being diagnosed each year and being the cause of blindness, kidney failure, heart attack, strokes, and limb amputation. Diabetes also has several different symptoms including:

  • Frequent urination especially at night
  • Extreme thirst
  • Weight loss
  • Increased hunger
  • Blurry vision
  • Numb or tingling hands or feet
  • Increased exhaustion
  • Dry skin
  • Sores that heal slowly
  • More infections than usual
  • Irritability or other mood changes
  • Presence of ketones in urine

When it comes to diagnosing diabetes, there are three distinct kinds that all have the commonality of high blood sugar levels. The three recognized types of diabetes are:

Type 1 Diabetes (T1DM) which is when your body’s endocrine part of pancreas does not produce enough hormone insulin and your blood sugar levels become too high

Type 2 Diabetes (T2DM) is when your body develops resistance to insulin and your blood sugar level increases as a result.

Gestational Diabetes (GDM) specifically occurs during pregnancy and blood sugar level is too high during pregnancy.

Blood drops holding signs that indicate blood sugar levels

“Even slight elevations in blood sugar have been shown to increase the risk of Alzheimer’s disease.” – David Perlmutter

To further support the evidence that diabetes is one of the prominent, devastating but common diseases of our time, check out these gathered statistics below:

  • It is estimated that by 2045 the global diabetes prevalence will surpass 12%. (Statista, 2021)
  • It is expected that the number of people with the condition will increase by 134% in Africa, 68% in South-East Asia, and 13% in Europe. (Statista, 2021)
  • 283,000 Americans under the age of 20 are estimated to have the disease. (ADA, 2022)
  • 29.2% or 15.9 million American seniors aged 65+ have diabetes. (ADA, 2022)
  • 23% or 8.5 million American adults with diabetes are undiagnosed. (CDC, 2020)
  • One person dies every five seconds due to this condition. This accumulates to 6.7 million deaths. (IDF Diabetes Atlas, 2021)
  • Diabetes type 1 statistics show that around 10% of people that have the disease have type 1. (IDF Diabetes Atlas, 2021)
  • 90 to 95% or around 33 to 35 million diabetic Americans have type 2. (CDC, 2020)
  • The number of people in the U.S. is expected to rise to 38 million by 2025. (Statista, 2021)
  • The U.S.’s average cost per patient is the highest at $12,000. (Statista, 2021)

The Discovery of Type 3

While not recognized as a health condition officially and considered a research term over medical, type 3 diabetes is a condition that is linked with Alzheimer’s disease, a form of vascular dementia the most common form of dementia in the United States.

Research states that type 3 diabetes occurs when the neurons in the brain become unable to respond to insulin, which is essential for basic tasks such as memory and learning. Researchers believe that this insulin deficiency is directly connected to the cognitive decline of Alzheimer’s disease.

Alzheimer’s disease is a prevalent, incurable disease that affects over 55 million people with 10 million new cases every year. Alzheimer’s disease also carries a hefty price tag with a global cost of $1.3 trillion and is expected to rise to $2.8 trillion by 2030. Beyond that check out these eye-opening statistics provided by alz.org just to see how prevalent Alzheimer’s is:

  • 1 in 3 seniors die of Alzheimer’s or another dementia. It kills more than breast cancer and prostate cancer combined.
  • Deaths from Alzheimer’s have more than doubled between 2000 and 2019
  • People living with Alzheimer’s or other dementias have twice as many hospital stays per year as other older people.
  • A person is diagnosed with dementia once every 64 seconds
  • After the age of 65, 1 in 10 adults has dementia
  • One in every eleven men will develop dementia
  • One in every six women will develop dementia

While research is still happening with type 3 diabetes, there are some hypotheses that suggest that insulin-degrading enzymes may shift type 2 diabetes to type 3 by altering the metabolic pathways which has the possibility to result in oxidative stress and beta-amyloid in the brain – both prominent characteristic of Alzheimer’s disease.

Illustration of elderly people not being able to solve problems

Doctors do not currently use type 3 diabetes as a diagnostic term, they can diagnose Alzheimer’s disease using a combination of physical and mental tests, neurological exams, and brain imaging. They also have had the ability to narrow down risks and symptoms to try and help individuals and their loved one’s spot type 3 diabetes and ALzherimer’s disease as early as possible.

Risks

  • A diet high in calories, sugar, and fat but low in fiber
  • Low socioeconomic status
  • Stress
  • Lack of physical activity
  • Genetics
  • Family history
  • Birth weight

Symptoms

  • Memory loss that begins to affect daily life and social interactions
  • Increased difficulty completing familiar tasks
  • Misplacing things more often
  • Decreases ability to make judgements
  • Sudden changes in personality

Treatment is possible but there are separate treatment options for people who have pre-type 2 diabetes, type 2 diabetes and Alzheimers. These treatments include making lifestyle changes, beginning exercising, a diet low in fat and rich in fruits and vegetables and quitting smoking.

If you have both type 2 diabetes and Alzheimer’s, treatment for the diabetes is important in slowing down the progression of dementia. Patients can also use anti-diabestes drugs such as metformin and insulin to reduce the risk of developing diabetes-induced brain damage.

In addition, acetylcholinesterase inhibitors like donepezil, galantamine or rivastigmine can be prescribed to help your body’s cells communicate with one another while memantine and NMDA-receptor antagonist can help reduce symptoms and low the progression of Alzheimer’s disease. Another option is psychotropic drugs such as antidepressants and anti-anxiety medications to help with dementia symptoms like depression and mood swings, some people require a light dose of antipsychotic therapy as well.

Hope For The Future

While not an official medical diagnosis yet, the link between Type 3 diabetes and Alzheimer’s disease is being closely researched and becoming more legitimate as more information is uncovered. With no cure for diabetes or Alzheimer’s, discovering this connection is a huge milestone as we advance into an age of medicine that hopefully can cure one or both these damaging diseases one day in the future. wings, some people require a light dose of antipsychotic therapy as well.

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Research For Life - Understanding Whole Body Donor Consent

Hello, my name is Garland Shreves, CEO of Research For Life. I want to take a moment to discuss some very basic information with you regarding consent forms, in general, that you may encounter when considering to donate to a whole body donor organization.

First and foremost, you need to understand and read the consent form, also known as the authorization form or document of gift, so you know what you are consenting to.  Ask questions of the organization if you don’t understand something. 

 All states require, under the Uniform Anatomical Gift Act, that consent be granted by an authorized agent of the donor or self-authorization before death.

Each state defines who in the consenting class has the most authority to direct donation. Such as the medical power of attorney, spouse, children, grandchildren, siblings, etc. and differs slightly in each state. 

Consent may be given by means of a verbal recorded consent or by a written document of gift.

Research For Life uses a written consent form which can be found on our website.

Understand that the donor or authorizing agent is giving the body to an organization. Once given it belongs to the organization to use in accordance with the consent form.

In other words, the donor organization is free to use the donor provided it does so within the terms

of the consent, it may not use the donor in a manner not consented too.  

The consent may state how the body may be used.  Educational and/or research purposes or some other purpose may be stated or in the discretion of the donor organization.

Research For Life provides cadavers and/or anatomical specimens for education and research purposes and does not do ballistic testing.

The consent may state that the body will be used in whole or in parts. It may also state that the anatomical parts may be used domestically and or internationally.

And most consents will cover some basic things like consent to test the donor for diseases and order medical records to help best determine the medical suitability for the donation.

The consent may also touch on issues like for profit or nonprofit status and if the donor or anatomical specimens will be used by one or more or both types of entities.  Remember that regardless of an organizations tax status they all charge fees to end users who order anatomical specimens and offer those specimens to both for profit and nonprofit entities.

From the very start of the donation process costs to the donor organization begin. 24-hour answering service, transport team to respond 24/7, qualified trained staff paid a livable wage with benefits and retirement, electric, gas, phone, insurances, building payments, maintenance, medical director, and regulatory requirements, and cremation fees. And these are just some of the expenses that an organization may have to cover.

Another item you may see on most authorization forms is a release of liability, a hold harmless agreement, excluding misconduct of course.  

Research For Life states clearly it will not and donor or agent agrees that Research For Life will not be held responsible for acts of third parties in connection with the donation.

Another item that reduces a donor organizations liability is the Anatomical Gift Act prohibits criminal, civil or administrative actions provided there is no intentional misconduct on the part of the donor organization. In other words, if the donor organization acted in good faith it is immune and provided some protection from lawsuits.

Another important part on a consent form is the person signing the authorization attests (affirms) that they have the authority to direct the donation. The donor organization accepts the authorizing agent’s authority in good faith barring any information known to it at the time of donation that would contradict the authority of the person authorizing donation.    

Remember, should you decide to register, tell your family and friends about your decision.

Also, the donation authorization form is not valid until notarized or signed by two witnesses; one witness must be non-family or disinterested party. 

Consent forms contain other important information that you need to read and understand.

All documents of gift or authorizations can be cancelled prior to death.

I want to thank you for taking the time to watch this video and I hope it helped provide you with some basic information regarding whole body donation consent forms.  Thank you.