Metabolic syndrome as a risk factor for alzheimer’s disease: a focus on insulin resistance

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is the main type of dementia and is a disease with a profound socioeconomic burden due to the lack of effective treatment. In addition to genetics and environmental factors, AD is highly associated with metabolic syndrome, defined as the combination of hypertension, hyperlip...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Ezkurdia-Lasarte, A. (Amaia)|||/items/8f919d1e-413b-4d19-a538-ec37076d0414, Ramírez-Gil, M.J. (María Javier)|||/items/2d48ae79-411f-45a1-bd65-bbee2aa118da, Solas-Zubiaurre, M. (Maite)|||/items/8cb01e14-a547-4965-8066-dfdacaec4544
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Fecha de publicación:2023
País:España
Institución:Universidad de Navarra
Repositorio:Dadun. Depósito Académico Digital de la Universidad de Navarra
Idioma:inglés
OAI Identifier:oai:dadun.unav.edu:10171/111784
Acceso en línea:https://hdl.handle.net/10171/111784
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Hypertension
Hyperlipidemia
Obesity
Diabetes mellitus
Insulin resistance
Astrocyte
Descripción
Sumario:Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is the main type of dementia and is a disease with a profound socioeconomic burden due to the lack of effective treatment. In addition to genetics and environmental factors, AD is highly associated with metabolic syndrome, defined as the combination of hypertension, hyperlipidemia, obesity and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Among these risk factors, the connection between AD and T2DM has been deeply studied. It has been suggested that the mechanism linking both conditions is insulin resistance. Insulin is an important hormone that regulates not only peripheral energy homeostasis but also brain functions, such as cognition. Insulin desensitization, therefore, could impact normal brain function increasing the risk of developing neurodegenerative disorders in later life. Paradoxically, it has been demonstrated that decreased neuronal insulin signalling can also have a protective role in aging and protein-aggregation-associated diseases, as is the case in AD. This controversy is fed by studies focused on neuronal insulin signalling. However, the role of insulin action on other brain cell types, such as astrocytes, is still unexplored. Therefore, it is worthwhile exploring the involvement of the astrocytic insulin receptor in cognition, as well as in the onset and/or development of AD.