Senior moments, those pesky instances of not so total recall—forgetting where we left our keys or what we did last weekend—are a subtle but significant part of the aging process. Another effect of growing old: rising blood sugar levels, which typically take off in our late 30s or early 40s as our bodies become less adept at metabolizing glucose in the bloodstream. Now a study has linked these rising levels with momentary forgetfulness, pinpointing exactly where in the brain the aging process acts—a finding that could help the elderly ward off memory lapses.
The nature of senior moments led scientists to believe they stem from disruptions in the hippocampus—an area that, among other roles, acts as the brain’s “save” button, allowing us to retain new information. Using functional MRI, researchers looked at the effects of increased blood glucose in the hippocampus of 181 subjects aged 65 or older with no history of dementia. They found that elevated levels impaired function of a section of the hippocampus called the dentate gyrus, which is a “hotspot” of age-related impairment, according to study author Scott Small, a neurologist at Columbia University.
Blood glucose is not alone in selectively affecting dentate gyrus performance. A 2007 study co-authored by Small shows that exercise improves its function in both mice and humans. The newer research, he points out, suggests that these positive effects may actually result from the influence of regular exercise on the body’s ability to break down glucose.
Psychiatrist Mony de Leon of New York University explains that the new study “may be showing a very fundamental aging process that might have some reversibility built into it.” If you correct the glucose intolerance, he says, you may be able to forget about forgetfulness.
Note: This article was originally printed with the title, "An End to Senior Moments".
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6 Comments
Add CommentI hope i can remember how to get back to this article....after cake and coffee!
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisCake and coffee are a good way to start the day. I once knew an 92 year old butcher that started his day with a shot of whiskey an a piece of cake. Was sharp as a tack up to the end. Sweets at the end of the day is bad for you, makes you fat and dumb. I hope I can remember that, the fatter I get,the dumber I get.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisAs the body is metabolising glucose from a variety of dietary sources does it matter whether one is eating natural fruit sugars, honey, molasses or refined white muck? To what extent is this a dietary thing anyway and to what extent it is due to the body's glucose level regulatory system functioning properly?
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisCosmic-cherry
The title of this piece is somewhat misleading. Maintaining lower blood glucose levels is much more complex than, say, not having that Milky Way after lunch. I might "avoid sugar" in my diet and still have high blood glucose levels related to aging.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisSo many of us think that having a protein shake combined with good fruits in the morning provides a nutritious beginning to our day. Is this not true? Too much fruit sugar?
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisAlso, Small's study about exercise highlights another aspect.
I look forward to more information on this.
Thank you-
harrietdiamond
Indeed it does matter what the source of your glucose is; the slower digesting your glucose source, the lower your max levels are going to be.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI suspect that the main reason glucose levels rise is the seriously harmful combination of processed food and decreasing inactivity. The solution is therefore simple;
Eat real, unprocessed food and do plenty of activity, ideally activity that forces your body to maintain muscle mass, or even better, put some new muscle mass on, as this alone will have massivley potentiating effects with respect to glucose disposal and utilisation.
Hope this helps,
George Super Boot Camps