Journal of Alzheimers Disease & Parkinsonism
Open Access

Abstract

Alzheimer's disease (AD) and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) are two progressive and devastating health disorders afflicting millions of people worldwide. Studies have suggested that individuals who suffer from T2DM have higher risks of AD. However, the underlying mechanisms remain to be determined. The present study examines whether autoregulation of cerebral blood flow (CBF) is impaired in aging T2DN rat, a T2DM strain, and whether this impairment contributes to AD. The levels of glucose (422±32 vs. 94±3mg/dL) and glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c, 11.5±0.2 vs. 4.3±0.1%) were higher in 12-18 months old T2DN than in age matched SD control rats. CBF rose by 137±15% and 36±5%, respectively, in T2DN and SD rats when MAP was increased from 100 to 180 mmHg. The expression of Amyloid β42 (Aβ42) and p-tau (S416) was significantly higher in the brains of T2DN vs. SD rats. Elderly T2DN rats exhibited learning and short and long term memory disabilities asthe short term (2-hour; T2DN 96±12 vs. SD 13±3 seconds) and long term (24-hour; T2DN 105±15 vs. SD 8±2 seconds) latency of escape were longer in an eight-arm water maze test, and spent less time in the target arm 48 hours after training (T2DN 3.4±2.6 vs. SD 45.0±1.7%).These findings indicate that T2DM is associated with an impaired autoregulation of CBFwith aging and this may contribute to cognitive impairment and AD.

Biography

Fan Fan (MD, MS) is an Assistant Professor at University of Mississippi Medical Center, USA. Her research focuses on the genetic basis of the impaired myogenic response and autoregulation of renal and cerebral blood flow and end organ damage in aging, hypertension and diabetes. She has published more than 30 papers in peer-reviewed journals and is currently serving as an Editorial Board Member and reviewer for several journals. She is currently funded by NIH to study roles of Adducin gamma (NIH/NIA), CYP4A1 and 20-HETE (NIH/NIGMS) on aging and hypertension related cerebral vascular and renal diseases.

Email: ffan@umc.edu