In a new study, researchers at the Salk Institute and UCSD, said some of the factors that cause diabetes might also trigger Alzheimer’s. In particular, their report found that the inability to process insulin caused swelling of the brain, damaged blood vessels there and hastened the death of neural cells in certain diabetic mice.

They believe a similar process might be taking place in humans.

The work provides yet another motivation for combating obesity and the growing diabetes epidemic it is fueling in the United States. It also suggests that onset of Alzheimer’s could be delayed or even prevented in some people if they don’t become diabetic earlier in life, said David Schubert, the lead investigator and professor at the institute’s Cellular Neurobiology Laboratory.

“The important point to make is not to get obese and develop diabetes,” Schubert said. “It’s a warning signal. It emphasizes that you don’t want to get diabetes when you’re young.”

The analysis led by Schubert is published in the current online edition of the medical journal Neurobiology of Aging. The study was co-authored by fellow Salk researchers Joseph Burdo and Qi Chen and diabetes expert Nigel Calcutt, who teaches in the pathology department at the University of California San Diego. The researchers are based in La Jolla.

Besides offering an explanation for the combination of diabetes and Alzheimer’s in some individuals, the report suggests that people at risk of developing Alzheimer’s could benefit from consuming foods and supplements rich in antioxidants, including fish, beans, berries, vegetables, fish oil and vitamin E, said researchers such as Greg Cole, associate director of the UCLA Alzheimer’s Center.

Antioxidants can help fight advanced glycation, the buildup of certain toxic protein molecules that can harm some blood vessels and lead to destructive inflammation of the brain.

Posted: 05|2|08 at 1:05 pm. Filed under: News.