4 ms·

The latest research is pointing to Alzheimer's being another form of diabetes which attacks the brain, nick-named "Type 3 Diabetes" [1]. The cells in the brain

• robbiep 12y ago
  There is some research to support this however it is by no means conclusively demonstrated More likely there are contributions from multifactorial elements: some propensity to form Amyloid plaques (from APP mutations or downstream processing mutations), some contribution from tau; there is a significant body of evidence to show that APOE3 carriers (cholesterol transport proteins) have a higher risk (something particularly relevant for myself given I am an APOE3 heterozygote) and the more recent 'type 3 diabetes' studies, which seem promising however the way they are bandied around by the 'sugar is evil' crowd my gut feeling is that they push the line a bit more vehemently then the evidence would suggest at present
  • hyperbovine 12y ago
    Honest question: other than that it's tasty, is there any argument whatsoever for consuming a lot of sugar? If no, then decreased risk of Alzheimer's is, pardon the pun, icing on the cake.
    • pdq 12y ago
      A few years ago I watched "Sugar: The Bitter Truth" [1], by Dr Lustig of UCSF. It's a very interesting watch, which convinced me to change my diet away from most everything sugary, and put much more more fiber and fat into my diet. [1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dBnniua6-oM https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dBnniua6-oM
      • dazc 12y ago
        My father developed alzheimer's in his early 60's. One thing I know didn't cause it was sugar because he rarely touched it.
    • robbiep 12y ago
      No there isn't. Certainly a diet consisting of lots of high sugar drinks and sugary food is a bad idea. Not only is it going to contribute to obesity but high sugar intake appears to be a much bigger risk factor for atherosclerosis and coronary artery disease than hyperlipidaemia. But all things in moderation. It is a pet peeve of mine that there are people who are so rabidly anti-sugar (the foaming at the mouth types). Yes we know it isn't a good idea in large doses and yes modern diets promote exactly this but sugar is not responsible for global terrorism or anything of the sort (to use some extreme hyperbole).
      • tomhoward 12y ago
        I believe (influenced strongly by self-experimentation over a long period of time) that there's a great deal of mistaking correlation for causation in this debate. In my experience, when the body is in a good state of healthy balance, there is little appetite for refined sugars, carbs, and all the other usual culprits of the anti-sugar set. Such a body can happily tolerate some indulgence - eg, a night or two per week having sugary desserts and cocktails. But after a certain amount of indulgence, the body responds by feeling bad (hangovers, brain fog etc), and the this healthy person heeds the signal to ease off for a few days. However there's a significant proportion of the population for whom the body isn't in a state of healthy balance, which causes them to have too great an appetite for sugar, which leads to exacerbated health problems (diabetes, heart disease, Alzheimer's, etc). All my research and experience leads me to believe that excess sugar consumption is more of a symptom than a primary cause.
  • mrfusion 12y ago
    I think you mean apoe4.
    • robbiep 12y ago
      you're absolutely right, that is exactly what I meant. thanks for the correction
• voidlogic 12y ago
  This is a must read for anyone interested in the possible connection: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2769828/ http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2769828/