P53: Brain, Diabetes and Cognition

Abstract

Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a chronic metabolic disease, characterized mainly by elevated levels of blood glucose, associated with other important metabolic disturbances. Prevalence of DM is dramatically increasing worldwide, but especially in western countries, due to several factors as like diet, lifestyle and population aging.

Recent studies demonstrate that some diabetic patients have an increased risk of developing cognitive decline and dementia compared with healthy individuals. Although this may reflect brain changes as a consequence of diabetes, the coexistence of diabetes and cognitive dysfunction suggest common risk factors and causative mechanisms.

Cognitive dysfunction, including mild cognitive impairment and dementia, is increasingly recognized as an important comorbidity and complication of diabetes that affects patient’s health and diabetes management with several public health implications. The aim of our work is to give an overview of cognitive dysfunction in people with diabetes, describing its clinical features and their biochemical basis and future perspectives.