Type 2 Diabetes and Cognitive Compromise

Type 2 diabetes, like dementia, disproportionately affects the elderly. Diabetes has consistently been associated with risk of dementia, mild cognitive impairment, and cognitive decline suggesting that cognitive compromise is a deleterious manifestation of diabetes. This review summarizes observational studies and clinical trials of diabetes medications and their respective associations and effects on cognitive outcomes. Despite biological plausibility, results from most human clinical trials have failed to show any efficacy in treating Alzheimer disease symptomatology and pathology. Clinical trials targeting vascular-related outcomes, diabetic patients, or cognitively normal elderly at risk for dementia, may provide greater cognitive benefits.