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World J Diabetes. Sep 15, 2016; 7(17): 412-422
Published online Sep 15, 2016. doi: 10.4239/wjd.v7.i17.412
Diabetes mellitus and cognitive impairments
Elham Saedi, Mohammad Reza Gheini, Firoozeh Faiz, Mohammad Ali Arami
Elham Saedi, Amir Alam Research Center, Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Neurology, Amir Alam Hospital, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran 1416753955, Iran
Mohammad Reza Gheini, Department of Neurology, Sina Hospital, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran 1416753955, Iran
Firoozeh Faiz, Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Endocrinology, Amir Alam Hospital, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran 1416753955, Iran
Mohammad Ali Arami, Department of Neurology, Milad General Hospital, Tehran 1449614531, Iran
Author contributions: All authors have contributed equally to this paper with the conception, literature review, drafting, critical revision and editing.
Conflict-of-interest statement: No potential conflicts of interest. No financial support.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Correspondence to: Mohammad Ali Arami, MD, Department of Neurology, Milad General Hospital, Hemmat Highway, Tehran 1449614531, Iran. arami_ma@yahoo.com
Telephone: +98-912-1571656 Fax: +98-216-6760245
Received: April 29, 2016
Peer-review started: May 3, 2016
First decision: June 17, 2016
Revised: July 28, 2016
Accepted: August 6, 2016
Article in press: August 8, 2016
Published online: September 15, 2016
Processing time: 134 Days and 3.9 Hours
Abstract

There is strong evidence that diabetes mellitus increases the risk of cognitive impairment and dementia. Insulin signaling dysregulation and small vessel disease in the base of diabetes may be important contributing factors in Alzheimer’s disease and vascular dementia pathogenesis, respectively. Optimal glycemic control in type 1 diabetes and identification of diabetic risk factors and prophylactic approach in type 2 diabetes are very important in the prevention of cognitive complications. In addition, hypoglycemic attacks in children and elderly should be avoided. Anti-diabetic medications especially Insulin may have a role in the management of cognitive dysfunction and dementia but further investigation is needed to validate these findings.

Keywords: Alzheimer’s disease; Cognitive disorders; Dementia; Diabetes; Insulin

Core tip: Diabetes mellitus increases the risk of cognitive impairment and dementia. Impairment of insulin signaling is a critically important factor and may be the cornerstone of the development of these cognitive sequences regardless of diabetic status. Therefore, anti-diabetic medications especially insulin therapy may have a significant role in the management of various cognitive and mental dysfunctions.