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Mercy Certified Diabetes Educator Kelly O'Connor Discusses Research Indicating Link Between Diabetes and Alzheimer's Disease

Diabetes is an illness that raises a person's risk for a host of health problems. Now, new research adds Alzheimer's disease to the list.

An insulin pump is one of Sheila Matlak's best weapons against diabetes. The device offers a constant flow of insulin and helps her manage a condition she's had for more than 30 years.

"It affects everything you do--your physical activity, the foods you eat, mood swings, energy levels," said Matlak.

Now diabetes patients like Sheila have something else to consider. New research indicates diabetics could be more prone to Alzheimer's disease.

"Diabetes does damage some of the vessels particularly neuropathy, which is when your nerves and vessels are damaged in your feet. And now they're saying that damage has gone as far as even brain cells," said Kelly O'Connor, certified diabetes educator with Mercy Medical Center.

More than five million Americans have Alzheimer's, and there's growing evidence that Type 2 diabetes could be responsible. The 18 million Type 2 diabetics in the U.S. are believed to have two to three times the risk of developing Alzheimer's.

"I think it's horrendous because it's one more thing added to the mix that diabetes can do to you," said Matlak.

As blood sugar rises, brain functioning in Type 2 diabetics appears to slow long before symptoms are evident.

If you have diabetes, experts say, don't panic. This study doesn't necessarily mean that you'll definitely develop Alzheimer's.

But O'Connor hopes it will serve as a wake-up call for diabetics to maintain decent blood sugar control and a healthy body weight.

"Maximize your intake of whole grains and low saturated fat foods," said O'Connor.

And if you're not diabetic, it's another reminder to follow that all too familiar advice: eat right and exercise.

One study of Alzheimer's patients showed those with a history of diabetes and high cholesterol experienced faster memory loss than those without.

According to a major national study reported by Wake Forest University scientists last month in the medical journal, Diabetes Care, doctors subjected approximately 3,000 diabetes patients to a number of cognitive tests. Every 1 percentage point increase in their A1C score — an average of glucose control over a few months — meant small but significant dropoff in memory, the ability to multitask, and other mental tasks.