How Diabetes Affects Your Brain

It appears that diabetes and insulin problems may be connected to a higher risk of serious conditions such as Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease.

Experts aren't sure how insulin works in the brain, but it seems to play many roles. Even in a healthy person, insulin changes that follow a high-carb meal change brain function, says Kahn.

So how might diabetes and insulin problems affect the brain? "In people with diabetes, the brain doesn't seem to become insulin resistant in the same way that other organs in the body do," Kahn says. "But there do seem to be changes in insulin signaling in the brain."

People with diabetes seem to have a higher risk of Alzheimer's disease. They may have a higher risk of Parkinson's disease and Huntington's disease too. Insulin problems seem to be connected. Studies have found that insulin levels in certain regions of the brain associated with memory are much higher in healthy people than in people with Alzheimer's disease.