Information About Diabetes & the Brain

Diabetes can affect the brain in two main ways. It can damage the arteries that supply blood to the brain, and it can prevent brain cells from getting an adequate supply of glucose.

Types

• Cerebrovascular disease is the medical term used when arteries that supply blood to the brain are damaged. When the brain gets too little blood and is starved for oxygen and nutrients, people can have strokes.

  The brain needs large quantities of glucose to do its job. Since diabetes prevents brain cells from absorbing and using glucose, uncontrolled diabetes can affect people’s memory and ability to think clearly.

Significance

• People with diabetes are at higher risk of having a stroke from vascular disease than non-diabetics. This is a serious diabetes-related complication because strokes can cause permanent brain damage, and impair speech, thinking and mobility.

Risk Factors

• Diabetics who smoke, have high blood pressure, carry excessive fat around the middle, and have elevated cholesterol levels are most likely to develop cerebrovascular diseases and have strokes.

Prevention

• Maintain normal blood glucose levels to help the brain function well. To prevent artery damage and strokes, exercise regularly, maintain a normal body weight, and keep blood pressure and cholesterol in the normal range.

Warning

• Diabetics are twice as likely to have a stroke when young than non-diabetics.

  Strokes are a leading cause of death in diabetics.