AGE-RELATED MEMORY DECLINE LINKED TO INCREASED GLUCOSE LEVELS

Memory decline with age appears partly explained by increased blood glucose levels that cause decreased activity in the dentate gyrus, a new study published in the December issue of the Annals of Neurology suggests. Since blood glucose levels tend to rise with age, this study suggests that improving blood glucose regulation may be a good way to ameliorate age-related memory decline, said study author Scott A. Small, MD, from Columbia University, in New York. "Whether through physical exercise, diet, or drugs, this research suggests that improving glucose metabolism could help some people avert the cognitive slide that occurs in many of us as we age," he said. "I now recommend physical exercise to my aging patients as a way to preserve cognitive ability," he added. "There are a lot of other reasons why physical exercise is good for you, and this is an additional reason."

Glucose levels that are too low, conversely, may inhibit cognitive function. In a separate small study published in the February 2009 issue of Appetite, researchers found transient impaired memory in dieters who depleted their glycogen stores by not eating any carbohydrates for a week. "We saw decreased memory at the point when the dieters had exhausted their body's supply of glycogen, and memory returned when small amounts of carbohydrates were reintroduced a week later," Holly A. Taylor, PhD, from Tufts University, in Medford, Massachusetts, told Medscape Psychiatry.

"(T)he results showed a clear difference in cognitive performance as a function of diet . . . [and] the data suggest that diet can affect more than just weight," Dr. Taylor said in a statement. "The brain needs glucose for energy, and diets low in carbohydrates can be detrimental to learning, memory and thinking."

The authors of the Annals of Neurology article and the Appetite article do not have any financial disclosure to report. The Annals of Neurology study was supported by the National Institutes of Health, the James S. McDonnell Foundation, the American Diabetes Association, and the McKnight Brain Research Foundation.

- From: “Age-Related Memory Decline Linked to Increased Glucose Levels”, Medscape Psychiatry News, January 02, 2009, http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/586081?src=mpnews&spon=12&uac=21416FZ retrieved 1/5/09.

 

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