Metabolic association between diabetes mellitus and alzheimer’s disease: neuropathological interaction?

Abstract

Diabetes Mellitus (DM) causes epidemiological dimensions of homeostasis imbalance in the population and the presence of Alzheimer's disease (AD) is becoming more prevalent worldwide. As AD is the most frequent neurodegeneration among the elderly, its relationship with DM has been increasingly discussed and investigated. We analyzed the relationship between AD and DM with its neurodegenerative disorders, metabolic correlations and neuropathological interaction in pharmacology. A narrative review was carried out, compiling articles published between 1996 and 2020 from the PubMed/MEDLINE, BVS/LILACS and Scielo databases in Portuguese, English and Spanish, using the keywords: "Diabetes Mellitus", "Alzheimer's Disease", "Type 3 Diabetes", "Insulin Resistance" and "Antidiabetics". A multifactorial correlation was observed, with insulin toxicity, hyperglycemia, presence of the Apoε 4 allele, and neurofibrillary tangle formation. The influence of pharmacology on therapy for these comorbidities was noted, highlighting the harmfulness of implemented medications. Prospective epidemiological studies should be conducted to analyze this correlation.