How does diabetes contribute to dementia? First, if you’re insulin resistant, yo...

How does diabetes contribute to dementia? First, if you���re insulin resistant, your body may not be able to break down a protein (���amyloid���) that forms brain plaques associated with Alzheimer���s. Secondly, high blood sugar provokes menacing biological reactions that injure the body. It produces certain oxygen-containing molecules that damage cells, and it causes inflammation that can result in a hardening and narrowing of arteries in the brain (and elsewhere in the body). This condition, atherosclerosis, can bring about vascular dementia, which occurs when blockages and strokes kill brain tissue.