Type-2 diabetes might shrink the brain, a new study has found.
The study, conducted by University of Pennsylvania researchers, found that the longer duration of diabetes was associated with loss of brain volume. However, contrary to popular belief the condition didn't up the risk of small vessel ischemic disease, which occurs when the brain doesn't receive adequate oxygenated blood.
Previous research has shown that people with diabetes suffer from cognitive decline. One of the theories that explain the link between diabetes and dementia is that the disease leads to heart problems, which then restrict the flow of blood to the brain. Another theory says that high level of insulin in the blood leads to inflammation that damages brain.
In the present study, researchers found that diabetes shrinks the brain. But the condition isn't associated with lower levels of oxygenated blood to the brain.
"We found that patients having more severe diabetes had less brain tissue, suggesting brain atrophy," said R. Nick Bryan, professor of radiology at the Perleman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. "They did not seem to have more vascular disease due to the direct effect of diabetes."
Diabetes type-2 is a condition when the body can't control the levels of glucose in the blood. It affects some 26 million people in the United States, according to the American Diabetes Association (ADA).
Estimations from the World Health Organization show that some 347 million people worldwide have diabetes. Health experts believe that poor dietary habits and lifestyle changes have increased the risk of diabetes type-2.
"As diabetes becomes more common, better understanding of the disease and its management becomes even more important in order to minimize its effect on patient health," Dr. Bryan said in a news release.
The research was based on brain scans of 614 patients. All the participants had diabetes, with mean duration of the condition being 9.9 years. Researchers conducted magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to test whether the severity and duration of the diabetes was associated with lower brain volume.
The study is published in the journal Radiology.