Type-3 Diabetes or Insulin Resistant Type-i Diabetes is called by several names. These names are ‘Double Diabetes’, Latent Autoimmune Diabetes of Adults or LADA and Type 1.5 Diabetes. Type-2 Diabetes, which has progressed to a point where the patient requires injected insulin, is also referred to as Type-3 Diabetes.
According to researchers from Northwestern University Chicago, Alzheimer’s disease may actually be a third form of diabetes. Elevated levels of insulin can cause inflammation in the brain that may increase the risk of Alzheimer’s disease. Brain synthesizes its own insulin and this insulin and the insulin receptors in the brain are crucial for learning and memory. In the brain, at a synapse, insulin binds to an insulin receptor, which triggers a mechanism that allows nerve cells to survive and forms memories.
In 2005, it was discovered that people with Alzheimer’s disease have low levels of insulin and insulin receptors. The research by Northwestern University discovered ‘amyloid B-de rived diffusible ligand’ ADDL, atoxic protein in the brain of Alzheimer’s patients. This ADDL removes insulin receptors from nerve cells and renders those neurons insulin resistant. As a result, the neurons cannot take up glucose and, thus degenerate and block memory function. Subsequently, in 2004, researchers revealed that individuals with diabetes mellitus have 65 percent higher risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease.