Diabetes Takes a Toll on the Brain

Many of us are acquainted with one or more people who suffer from some level of diabetes.  Therefore we are all familiar, to some degree, with the toll it can have on the human body.  One of the most common forms of diabetes is Type 2 diabetes.  Research has indicated that Type 2 impairs blood flow to the brain and, as a result, leads to a sharper decline in mental awareness over time.  The cognitive ability of 40 subjects of about 66 years was put to the test; half of the group was diagnosed with diabetes, the other 20 were the control.  They completed an initial set of tests, and then a set of follow up tests two years later to determine any possible cognitive decline correlated with the presence of the disease.   It seemed that at the end of the period, the subjects known to have diabetes showed a greater decline in gray matter volume, mental test scores, and blood flow in the brain. 

The researchers found a positive correlation between blood flow to the brain and test scores.  The subjects that were diagnosed with diabetes suffered from a lower rate of blood flow, and therefore had a more difficult time scoring on the cognitive tests.  The findings of this investigation, at face value, are an important find.  The test should be repeated, however, to eliminate external pressures on the results.  Nonetheless, it is an important starting point to understanding the many side affects diabetes can have on us or our loved ones.

A Possible Cure for Baldness?

Baldness, or alopecia areata, is something that people have been dealing with since the history of the human species, over the years people have grown accustomed to its inevitability and have accepted it as a part of aging, and a part of life. However, according to researchers from Columbia University, baldness is not something we all have to accept. Researchers have linked the cause of hair loss to eight specific genes in humans. They found out that people who carry at least 16 or more alopecia-associated genes will be at a higher risk of hair loss. To the researchers delight, and honestly, a very convenient coincidence, the exact same genes have already been linked to diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis and type 1 diabetes. "This greatly accelerated our ability to think about new drugs for these patients, since so much work has already been done for the other two diseases." Said Dr. Angela Christiano of the Columbia University Medical Center in New York.

From the findings of these eight genes, geneticists will finally be able to cure something so common and simple. For some people balding is very depressing and eventually people wont have to wear awful wigs anymore. I think this discovery will be very helpful in the future and people like Donald Trump wont have to look so ridiculous anymore.The study itself was posted in the July issue of the Journal of Nature.