IGF-1 levels in older adults with Alzheimer's disease and type 2 Diabetes mellitus

• Grant number: 20/11925-9
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: January 01, 2021
• End date: December 31, 2021
• Field of knowledge: Health Sciences - Medicine - Psychiatry
• Principal Investigator: Márcia Regina Cominetti
• Grantee: Paloma Zanarelli
• Host Institution: Centro de Ciências Biológicas e da Saúde (CCBS). Universidade Federal de São Carlos (UFSCAR). São Carlos , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a progressive and gradual neurodegenerative disease, whose main characteristic is cortical atrophy, predominant in the medial temporal lobe, in the hippocampus region and at the microscopic level there is evidence of severe neuronal losses, due to the accumulation of senile plaques and neurofibrillary tangles. The results obtained in the Rotterdam study showed that type 2 Diabetes mellitus (DM2) increases the risk of developing AD. These data suggest that insulin plays an important role in the brain activity and in the formation of memory. Therefore, some authors named AD as "Type 3 Diabetes" (DM3) or "cerebral diabetes". The insulin-like growth factor (IGF-1) is an important factor for neuroprotection, promoting synaptogenesis and neurogenesis in response to neuronal damage. Thus, this project aims to investigate the levels of IGF-1 in individuals with AD and DM2, either alone, or in the concomitant presence of the two diseases. For this, the participants will be divided into four groups (DA, DM2, DA + DM2 and healthy controls) so that we can investigate the role of IGF-1 in these conditions. The levels of IGF-1 will be investigated in the individuals' plasma and the collections will be performed at the University Hospital/UFSCar. This project is part of a larger study, financed by FAPESP (2019/02648-4). All ethical precepts will be followed, in accordance with resolution 466/2012 of the National Health Council. The detection of changes in IGF-1 levels in the groups may contribute clinically towards a new approach to the treatments of this type of dementia, also evaluating the metabolic and inflammatory states of individuals, in addition to helping to better understand the biology of the disease itself. (AU)