Another reason to make sure you do not develop metabolic syndrome is the link between insulin resistance and Alzheimer’s disease.
Insulin resistant people with type 2 diabetes are more likely to develop plaques in their brains which are associated with Alzheimer’s disease.
A study looked at 135 elderly participants who were monitored for signs of Alzheimer’s disease for 10 to 15 years.
After they died, researchers conducted autopsies on their brains and that those who had high blood sugar levels while they were alive also tended to have the plaques.
According to Reuters:
“Twenty-one participants, or 16 percent, developed Alzheimer’s disease before they died and plaques were found in all of their brains. But the autopsies also found plaques in other participants who had abnormally high blood sugar levels.
Plaques were found in 72 percent of people with insulin resistance and 62 percent of those with no indication of insulin resistance, the researchers wrote.
“The point is that insulin resistance may possibly accelerate plaque pathology (development),” Sasaki wrote.”
Sources:
Read more at http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2010/09/07/does-insulin-resistance-cause-alzheimers-plaques.aspx