Turner's study examines resveratrol, a compound found in red grapes and red wine, to see if it might change glucose levels in patients with mild to moderate Alzheimer's disease (AD). Turner says resveratrol is thought to act on proteins in the brain in a way that mimics effects of a low-calorie diet.
"We know from animal studies that caloric restriction prevents diseases of aging such as diabetes and Alzheimer's," explains Turner, director of the Georgetown University Medical Center's Memory Disorders Program. "On the flip side of the coin, having diabetes increases one's risk of developing AD. So perhaps by improving glucose tolerance, we will prevent or delay both diabetes and Alzheimer's."
To join the resveratrol study, participants were first given a fasting glucose tolerance test to obtain a baseline level, and then retested two hours after eating. During digestion, the blood sugar level increases, but the pancreas produces insulin to lower it. A high sugar level after two hours reveals glucose intolerance (pre-diabetes) or diabetes if the level is very high.
"The number of people with glucose intolerance (pre-diabetes) was much higher than expected," says Turner. "I was surprised by how many people didn't know they were pre-diabetic, and these are individuals who already get the best medical care."
Five (4 percent) of 128 participants had impaired fasting glucose levels while three others (2 percent) had findings consistent with type 2 diabetes mellitus. Of the 125 subjects who completed the two-hour test, 38 (30 percent) demonstrated glucose intolerance while 16 (13 percent) had results consistent with diabetes. Thus, the overall prevalence of impaired glucose tolerance or diabetes at two hours was 43 percent – or almost half of the individuals recruited to the study.
Turner asks, "How does glucose intolerance or diabetes lead to AD? Does the inflammation associated with AD trigger glucose intolerance? Or do both events create a vicious cycle of Alzheimer's and glucose intolerance?"
Turner's study isn't designed to answer these questions, but it might provide important clues. Turner says while a glucose tolerance test is not typically ordered by neurologists, "this result suggests that perhaps we should test all our patients with early Alzheimer's. It's a simple, inexpensive study that reveals critical health information."
Turner will discuss his findings at the Alzheimer's Association International Congress in Boston on July 14.
The resveratrol study is sponsored by the Alzheimer's Disease Cooperative Study through a grant from the National Institute on Aging. Turner reports no personal financial interests related to the study.
About Georgetown University Medical Center
Georgetown University Medical Center (GUMC) is an internationally recognized academic medical center with a three-part mission of research, teaching and patient care (through MedStar Health). GUMC's mission is carried out with a strong emphasis on public service and a dedication to the Catholic, Jesuit principle of cura personalis -- or "care of the whole person." The Medical Center includes the School of Medicine and the School of Nursing & Health Studies, both nationally ranked; Georgetown Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center, designated as a comprehensive cancer center by the National Cancer Institute; and the Biomedical Graduate Research Organization, which accounts for the majority of externally funded research at GUMC including a Clinical and Translational Science Award from the National Institutes of Health.
Karen Mallet | EurekAlert!
Resolving the mystery of preeclampsia
21.10.2016 | Universitätsklinikum Magdeburg
New potential cancer treatment using microwaves to target deep tumors
12.10.2016 | University of Texas at Arlington
Researchers from the Institute for Quantum Computing (IQC) at the University of Waterloo led the development of a new extensible wiring technique capable of controlling superconducting quantum bits, representing a significant step towards to the realization of a scalable quantum computer.
"The quantum socket is a wiring method that uses three-dimensional wires based on spring-loaded pins to address individual qubits," said Jeremy Béjanin, a PhD...
In a paper in Scientific Reports, a research team at Worcester Polytechnic Institute describes a novel light-activated phenomenon that could become the basis for applications as diverse as microscopic robotic grippers and more efficient solar cells.
A research team at Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) has developed a revolutionary, light-activated semiconductor nanocomposite material that can be used...
By forcefully embedding two silicon atoms in a diamond matrix, Sandia researchers have demonstrated for the first time on a single chip all the components needed to create a quantum bridge to link quantum computers together.
"People have already built small quantum computers," says Sandia researcher Ryan Camacho. "Maybe the first useful one won't be a single giant quantum computer...
COMPAMED has become the leading international marketplace for suppliers of medical manufacturing. The trade fair, which takes place every November and is co-located to MEDICA in Dusseldorf, has been steadily growing over the past years and shows that medical technology remains a rapidly growing market.
In 2016, the joint pavilion by the IVAM Microtechnology Network, the Product Market “High-tech for Medical Devices”, will be located in Hall 8a again and will...
'Ferroelectric' materials can switch between different states of electrical polarization in response to an external electric field. This flexibility means they show promise for many applications, for example in electronic devices and computer memory. Current ferroelectric materials are highly valued for their thermal and chemical stability and rapid electro-mechanical responses, but creating a material that is scalable down to the tiny sizes needed for technologies like silicon-based semiconductors (Si-based CMOS) has proven challenging.
Now, Hiroshi Funakubo and co-workers at the Tokyo Institute of Technology, in collaboration with researchers across Japan, have conducted experiments to...
14.10.2016 | Event News
14.10.2016 | Event News
12.10.2016 | Event News
21.10.2016 | Health and Medicine
21.10.2016 | Information Technology
21.10.2016 | Materials Sciences