Keeping Blood Sugar Low May Protect Memory
October 28th, 2013Via: NPR:
There’s a growing body of evidence linking elevated blood sugar to memory problems.
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Study author Agnes Floel of Charite University Medicine in Berlin says there may be a couple of things at play. It’s possible that blood vessel effects can damage memory. “Elevated blood sugar levels damage small and large vessels in the brain, leading to decreased blood and nutrient flow to brain cells,” explains Floel.
Another explanation: Elevated blood sugar “may impair the functioning of brain areas like the hippocampus, a structure particularly relevant for memory,” Floel says.
“When you’re making a decision or trying to retrieve [information from your memory], the hippocampus requires a lot of glucose,” explains Gail Musen of the Joslin Diabetes Center.
But when glucose levels rise in the body, it may lead to a disruption in the transport of glucose through the blood-brain barrier to the hippocampus. And this may impact the integrity of the hippocampus, according to the findings of the new study.
So it seems that when blood sugar in the body rises, it may be “more difficult to get that glucose to the hippocampus,” Musen explains.
Research Credit: windhorse
