Alzheimer's gene tied to better diet response
Key points
- A genetic variant that has been linked with Alzheimer's disease may have a beneficial effect in patients with type 2 diabetes.
- Masaaki Eto and colleagues, from Kawasaki Medical School, in Kurashiki, Japan, put 11 diabetic patients with ApoE4 and to 24 patients without this variant on a calorie-restricted diet.
- Both groups lost a modest amount of weight and experienced a drop in blood sugar levels.
- Further studies are needed to clarify how apoE4 improves the cholesterol response to dieting and to look at the effects of other genes that may be involved, the authors state.
A genetic variant that has been linked with Alzheimer's disease may have a beneficial effect in patients with type 2 diabetes. In a new study, patients with this variant, known as apoE4, experienced a greater drop in "bad" LDL cholesterol levels when dieting than their peers without this variant.
Dr. Masaaki Eto and colleagues, from Kawasaki Medical School, in Kurashiki, Japan, put 11 diabetic patients with ApoE4 and to 24 patients without this variant on a calorie-restricted diet. The results are published in the medical journal Diabetes Care.
Both groups lost a modest amount of weight and experienced a drop in blood sugar levels. In the ApoE4 group, total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, and triglyceride levels all decreased significantly with dieting, the authors note. In contrast, patients lacking the variant only showed a reduction in triglyceride levels.
Further studies are needed to clarify how apoE4 improves the cholesterol response to dieting and to look at the effects of other genes that may be involved, the authors state.
SOURCE: Diabetes Care, June 2004.
Written and revised by
David Cohen, M.D.
Our doctors write and review articles for accuracy and keep them up to date.
health.am provides general information, not medical advice. Always consult a qualified health professional about your own health.
Explore health topics
More in this topic
Diabetes & Hormones →NewsMediterranean diet may lower risk of diabetes
Adoption of a Mediterranean diet is linked to a lower risk of diabetes, especially among people at high risk for cardiovascular disease, according to research to be presented at the American College of Cardiology's 63rd…
28 March 2014
NewsLoss of function of a single gene linked to diabetes in mice
Researchers from the University of Illinois at Chicago College of Medicine have found that dysfunction in a single gene in mice causes fasting hyperglycemia, one of the major symptoms of type 2 diabetes. Their findings…
4 January 2014
NewsNew genetic risk factor for type 2 diabetes revealed
Cambridge and Boston, MA; Los Angeles, CA; Mexico City, Mexico. Wed. December 25, 2013 – An international team of researchers in Mexico and the United States has uncovered a new genetic clue that contributes to an…
26 December 2013
