The road to Alzheimer's disease might start with diabetes

By: Patricia Grace, Senior Care Examiner

Today's obesity epidemic might be tomorrow's Alzheimer's disease epidemic.

Most Americans are aware of the direct connection between obesity and Type II diabetes, however many of these same Americans, are probably not aware of the link between obesity, diabetes and dementia.

A new study by Dr. Margaret Gatz, Gerontology Professor, University of Southern California, has shown a surprising connection between diabetes and Alzheimer’s disease. Her study published in the January 2009 journal Diabetes, tracked the rate of Type II diabetes and dementia. She and her team discovered that developing Type II diabetes before the age of 65 increased the risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease by 125%. Read full article