Dilemma of the 3Ds (Dementia, Depression, and Diabetes)

Premature and accelerated brain aging trajectories have been recognized in cognitive and neural responses, but specific mechanisms for the course of cognitive aging remain to be elucidated. Insulin resistance (IR) is known to change with age, affect cognition in older and elderly adults as well as in patients with affective disorders. While causes of IR have not been fully established, there are several well-established risk factors, including obesity, poor diet, physical inactivity, advancing age and genetic predisposition. The 3Ds of IR (dementia, depression, and diabetes) represent interconnected avenues of investigation into insulin resistance, and can provide opportunities to transform windows of vulnerability to mental and physical disorders into windows of neuroscientific advancement with diagnostic and therapeutic implications.

Speaker: Dr. Natalie Rasgon, Stanford