R.I. Hospital study links obesity, brain atrophy

PROVIDENCE – A study from Rhode Island Hospital published in the September issue of the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease has found that obesity and type 2 diabetes mellitus can contribute to mild neurodegeneration with features similar to, but less severe than, Alzheimer’s.
In the study, using animal models, lead researcher Dr. Suzanne de la Monte used chronically high-fat diets to cause a twofold increase in mean body weight. She found that this slightly reduced brain weight and significantly reduced the mean brain weight/body weight ratio, evidence that obesity with T2DM is sufficient to cause mild global atrophy in the brain.
However, de la Monte said, the atrophy “in no way” matches the severity of Alzheimer’s, and while obesity and T2DM could aggravate Alzheimer’s, it cannot cause it by itself.
The full study is available at http://www.j-alz.com. &#8226