A new study published in the journal Neurology has revealed that Type 2 diabetes can triggers a significant reduction in brain activity within just a two-year period.
Several tests were conducted on 65 participants (average age 66) at the beginning of a two-year study, roughly half of whom had already been diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes.
All of the participants took tests to assess cognitive function and memory performance, and underwent MRI scans and blood tests to measure blood flow and pressure, rate of tissue inflammation, and brain volume.
After two years it was discovered that participants with Type 2 diabetes experienced a 65% decrease in blow flow regulation.
Study co-author Vera Novak, MD, PhD, of Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center said “People with type 2 diabetes have impaired blood flow regulation.
“These correlations provided the link between altered cerebral vasoregulation and cognitive deterioration in participants with type 2 diabetes that can be tracked prospectively even over a relatively short time period of 2 years.
“Early detection and monitoring of blood flow regulation may be an important predictor of accelerated changes in cognitive and decision-making skills.”