Obesity and Alzheimer's Disease
Obesity and Alzheimer's Disease
High Insulin Levels Linked to Alzheimer's
(continued)
Except for the spinal tap, many Americans already are undergoing the same experiment as the study volunteers did. And they are doing it for a lot longer than two hours.
Because they are overweight and inactive -- and because they may have genetic risk factors -- many people have high insulin levels. It's not good for their hearts. And it's not good for their brains, says Samuel Gandy, MD, PhD. Gandy, chairman of the Alzheimer's Association's medical and scientific advisory committee, is director of the Farber neuroscience institute at Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia.
"I think this reinforces the idea that it's wise to maintain your brain," Gandy tells WebMD. "Controlling blood sugar and body weight -- all those things we know are good for your heart health are also really good at preventing Alzheimer's disease. So there are more and more reasons not to be slouchy about getting these things under control."
Craft and colleagues report their findings in the October issue of Archives of Neurology.
Obesity and Alzheimer's
High Insulin Levels Linked to Alzheimer's
(continued)
Brave Volunteers continued...
Except for the spinal tap, many Americans already are undergoing the same experiment as the study volunteers did. And they are doing it for a lot longer than two hours.
Because they are overweight and inactive -- and because they may have genetic risk factors -- many people have high insulin levels. It's not good for their hearts. And it's not good for their brains, says Samuel Gandy, MD, PhD. Gandy, chairman of the Alzheimer's Association's medical and scientific advisory committee, is director of the Farber neuroscience institute at Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia.
"I think this reinforces the idea that it's wise to maintain your brain," Gandy tells WebMD. "Controlling blood sugar and body weight -- all those things we know are good for your heart health are also really good at preventing Alzheimer's disease. So there are more and more reasons not to be slouchy about getting these things under control."
Craft and colleagues report their findings in the October issue of Archives of Neurology.
Source...