Type 2 diabetes reduces brain functioning: Study

Australian scientists have claimed to discover a direct link between diabetes type 2 and reduced brain function. According to ABC report today, Sydney Memory and Ageing Study in the latest finding revealed older people who developed the disease experienced a greater decline in brain performance than those without the condition.

The two-year research which followed 880 people aged between 70 and 90 also found maintaining stable blood sugars reduces the risk. Study leader Katherine Samaras said it was a breakthrough.

"It's not necessarily related to a duration effect of diabetes," Samaras said. "Even if you've reached your mid 70s or early 80s and you haven't got diabetes, if you're pre-diabetec, you probably should be doing everything to prevent getting diabetes because we think that that may actually halt that cognitive decline that we are seeing," she said.