Is Type 3 Diabetes Alzheimer's Disease?

by First-Signs-of-Diabetes-Symptoms.comType 3 Diabetes is a new form of diabetes discovered by Dr Suzanne de la Monte and her research team at the US Brown Medical School. In the research it was found that the brain produces insulin. Yes, the brain really produces insulin. This brain insulin is not affected by the level of glucose in the blood as in type 1 diabetes and type 2 diabetes.However with type3 diabetes the brain produces lower than normal levels of brain insulin. If the brain cells are deprived of insulin they eventually die causing memory loss and other degenerative diseases.This new type of diabetes also strengthens scientists’ belief that people with diabetes have an increased risk of suffering from Alzheimer’s disease by up to 65%. Alzheimer is a degenerative brain disorder.Researchers at the medical school have also discovered that many type 2 diabetics have deposits of a protein in their pancreas which issimilar to the protein deposits found in the brain tissue of Alzheimer's sufferers.Scientist found also that Alzheimer’s disease patient show a build up of amyloid plague in their brains. In type 2 diabetes, amyloids are found in the pancreas and possible kills insulin-processing cells.The toxins produced by diabetes may negatively affect the brain’s ability to use sugar. Dr Suzanne de la Monte, who led the research, and her colleagues studied rodents and post-mortem brain tissue from people with Alzheimer's and proved that insulin and its related proteins are actually produced in the brain, and that reduced levels of both are linked to Alzheimer's disease.What are the Type 3 diabetes symptoms?The symptoms of type 3 diabetes can be very subtle and may go unnoticed for a number of years without being diagnosed.This type of diabetes normally shows up much later in life and because these diabetes type 3 symptoms only appear in the aged it is sometimes thought to be a normal part of aging process. It is for this very reason that the diabetes type 3 symptoms are often times missed totally.The most noticeable diabetes symptoms type 3 that present themselves are:• Confusion• Memory loss• DementiaThese diabetes type 3 symptoms mentioned above are also associated with Alzheimer's disease – which causes memory loss.The pancreas is not the only organ that produces insulin as in was discovered in research carried out by the Browns University Medical School that the brain has its own insulin supply - also known as brain insulin.Researchers are trying to work out if there is a link between diabetes type 3 and alzheimers. More research is needed in this area to ascertain the relationship if any between the two.How is diabetes symptoms type 3 diagnosed?At present, the only possible mean of diagnosing the disease is to do a brain scan. The scan is referred to as a MRI scan; the scan is an image of the brain which the doctors then analyse before making a diagnosis.What are the type 3 diabetes causes?If the brain doesn’t get enough insulin a protein is formed which is called “amyloid plaque”. The amyloid plaque was discovered in the brains of people who had alzheimers disease.This same amyloid plaque was found in the pancreas of people who had suffered from diabetes mellitus type 1.