Glucose metabolism and Alzheimer's dementia

Abstract

Blood glucose levels are abnormally low in Alzheimer's dementia. We therefore examined glucose metabolism before death in relation to Alzheimer's dementia as determined at autopsy in 106 men and 161 women. (1) The mean age was 85.8 ± 7.9 years for women (p < 0.001). The fasting plasma glucose level and hemoglobin Alc levels did not differ by sex. (2) Alzheimer's dementia was detected in 88 patients (25.5%). More women than men had the disease, but the difference was not significant. (3) Only 8.8% (3/34) of patients with diabetes mellitus had Alzheimer's dementia, as compared with 27.9% of patients without diabetes mellitus (65/233, p < 0.03). (4) The fasting plasma glucose level was 89.9 ± 13.4 mg/dl in patients with Alzheimer's dementia and 102. ± 34.5 mg/dl in those without disease. The hemoglobin Alc level was 5.7 ± 0.8% in patients with Alzheimer's dementia and 6.4 ± 1.5% in those without the disease. Both the fasting glucose level and hemoglobin Alc level were significantly lower in patients with Alzheimer's dementia than in those without the disease, p < 0.01. These data suggest that the development of Alzheimer's dementia is suppressed by the high plasma glucose levels in patients with diabetes mellitus.