Is Type 3 Diabetes Hurting Your Brain? What Blood Sugar Levels Mean for Dementia Risk

Diabetes is among the most dreaded diseases across the world, with consequences that can be disastrous for your long-term health. Being a chronic disease, where your body is unable to produce enough insulin, or not use it effectively due to insulin resistance, diabetes is an autoimmune disease. While Type 1 Diabetes destroys your body’s insulin-producing cells in the pancreas, Type 2 diabetes involves insulin resistance. However, one type of diabetes, type 3, can lead to dysfunction in your brain as well. In the long run, type 3 diabetes, currently not an official term, may cause dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. According to experts, those with diabetes or imbalanced blood sugar levels have a significantly higher risk of dementia, which highlights

the importance of understanding how metabolic health affects the brain.

What is type 3 diabetes?

Type 3 diabetes is a term that describes the hypothesis that Alzheimer’s disease is caused by a type of insulin resistance and insulin-like growth factor dysfunction that occurs specifically in the brain. The condition, experts believe, is also used by some to describe people who have T2D and also receive a diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease. The classification of type 3 diabetes is highly controversial, and it is not widely accepted by the medical community as a clinical diagnosis. Another classification of diabetes includes type 3c diabetes mellitus – also known as T3cDM - which develops due to conditions that affect the pancreas. Despite having a similar name, this is a separate condition.

How does diabetes lead to dementia and Alzheimer’s?

A lot of research has studied a possible link between diabetes and the development of Alzheimer’s disease. While it is believed that Alzheimer’s may be triggered by insulin resistance in your brain, it can also be a bit of an oversimplification. Over time, untreated diabetes damages your blood vessels, including vessels in your brain. Diabetes also leads to chemical imbalances in your brain, contributing to Alzheimer’s. Also, high blood sugar levels lead to inflammation, which may damage brain cells. For these reasons, diabetes is considered a risk factor for vascular dementia - a stand-alone diagnosis with symptoms of its own. It can also be a warning sign of what will develop into an overlap with Alzheimer’s disease.

What causes type 3 diabetes?

According to experts, a few risk factors for T2D include:

• A family history of diabetes
• High blood pressure levels
• Being obese or overweight
• Having chronic conditions like depression and polycystic syndrome

Signs and symptoms of type 3 diabetes for dementia

The symptoms of the proposed type 3 diabetes condition include symptoms of dementia, like those seen in early stages of Alzheimer’s, which include:

• Memory loss that affects daily living and social interactions
• Difficulty completing familiar tasks
• Misplacing things often
• Decreased ability to make judgments based on information

Sudden changes in personality or demeanor