| Popis: |
Type 2 diabetes is a common metabolic disease with a rising global prevalence. It is associated with slowly progressive end-organ damage in the eyes and kidneys, but also in the brain. The latter complication is often referred to as "diabetic encephalopathy" and is characterized by mild to moderate impairments in cognitive functioning. It is also associated with an increased risk of dementia. Diabetic encephalopathies are now accepted complications of diabetes. To date, its pathogenetic mechanisms are largely unclear. They appear to differ in type 1 and type 2 diabetes as to underlying mechanisms and the nature of resulting cognitive deficits. The increased incidence of Alzheimer’s disease in type 2 diabetes is associated with insulin resistance, hyperinsulinemia and hyperglycemia, and commonly accompanying attributes such as hypercholesterolemia, hypertension and obesity. However, cognitive impairement in type 1 diabetes have other differences with type 2 diabetes. The major underlying component here appears to be insulin deficiency with downstream effects on the expression of neurotrophic factors, neurotransmitters, oxidative and apoptotic stressors resulting in defects in neuronal integrity, connectivity and loss commonly occurring in the still developing brain. |
