Earlier this year, researchers reported finding insulin being produced in an organ other than the pancreas:"Researchers at Rhode Island Hospital and Brown Medical School have discovered that insulin and its related proteins are produced in the brain, and that reduced levels of both are linked to Alzheimer's disease."
The amounts were low. But the idea that Alzheimer's Disease (AD) could be a form of diabetes specific to the central nervous system prompted additional study. Subsequently, a supportive follow-up report was published in November that described a link between the progressive nature of AD and the availability of insulin and insulin-like growth factors - the lower the quantity of insulin and functioning insulin receptors in the brain, the more advanced was the stage of AD.
The type of diabetes described here as associated with Alzheimer's Disease (coined "type 3 diabetes" by researchers) is not the same as type 2 diabetes, which affects approximately 18 million Americans. Type 2 diabetes is characterized by higher than normal levels of blood glucose (throughout the body) which result from malfunctions in the production or utilization of insulin made in the pancreas.
A connection between the two disorders may exist, but has yet to be clarified. If a relationship can be shown, the possibilities for therapies that could target both type 2 diabetes and Alzheimer's Disease are promising.
For press release on "brain insulin" finding:
Researchers discover link between insulin and Alzheimer's
For some summaries of the recent study:
Evidence Grows That Alzheimer's Is A Type Of Diabetes
and
Alzheimer's Disease May Be 'Type 3' Diabetes
For the abstract and review article:
Review of insulin and insulin-like growth factor expression, signaling, and malfunction in the central nervous system: Relevance to Alzheimer's disease
Impaired insulin and insulin-like growth factor expression and signaling mechanisms in Alzheimer's disease - is this type 3 diabetes?
