地域高齢者における糖尿病と海馬萎縮との関係: 久山町研究

<p>Recent epidemiological studies have reported that diabetes mellitus is associated with an increased risk of the development of Alzheimer's disease (AD). Owing to the recent progress in image analysis using brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans, volumes of total brain and its anatomical regions can be measured quantitatively. Accordingly, some epidemiological studies have investigated the association between diabetes and morphological changes in the brain. In the Hisayama Study, an epidemiological study in the town of Hisayama, Fukuoka, Japan, the prevalence of dementia, particularly Alzheimer's disease, has increased rapidly beyond the aging of the population during the past three decades, and the prevalence of type 2 diabetes or prediabetes has also increased. The Hisayama Study previously showed that diabetes was significantly associated with the development of AD and the formation of neuritic plaque in the brain. Furthermore, we recently reported that diabetes was a significant risk factor for hippocampal atrophy using the brain MRI data of the Hisayama residents aged≥65 years in 2012. In this study, elevated 2-hour postload glucose levels, longer duration of diabetes, and younger onset of diabetes were significantly associated with hippocampal atrophy.</p>