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Ageing and diabetes: implications for brain function
Biessels GJ, van der Heide LP, Kamal A, Bleys RL, Gispen WH.. European journal of pharmacology, 2002-04-01
Topic: Risk, prevention and care in population studies
Diabetes mellitus is associated with moderate cognitive deficits and neurophysiological and structural changes in the brain, a condition that may be referred to as diabetic encephalopathy. Diabetes increases the risk of dementia, particularly in the elderly. The emerging view is that the diabetic brain features many symptoms that are best described as "accelerated brain ageing." The clinical characteristics of diabetic encephalopathy are discussed, as well as behavioural (e.g. spatial learning) and neurophysiological (e.g. hippocampal synaptic plasticity) findings in animal models. Animal models can make a substantial contribution to our understanding of the pathogenesis, which shares many features with the mechanisms underlying brain ageing. By unravelling the pathogenesis, targets for pharmacotherapy can be identified. This may allow treatment or prevention of this diabetic complication in the future. We discuss changes in glutamate receptor subtypes, in second-messenger systems and in protein kinases that may account for the alterations in synaptic plasticity. In addition, the possible role of cerebrovascular changes, oxidative stress, nonenzymatic protein glycation, insulin and alterations in neuronal calcium homeostasis are addressed.
Key findings
- Diabetes mellitus is associated with moderate cognitive deficits and neurophysiological and structural changes in the brain, a condition that may be referred to as diabetic encephalopathy.
Why it matters
This review describes diabetes as associated with moderate cognitive deficits and brain changes, sometimes called diabetic encephalopathy, and as increasing dementia risk particularly in the elderly. It discusses animal models of these mechanisms and suggests that understanding them could one day identify targets for drugs to treat or prevent this diabetic complication.
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Study details
- Evidence strengthLow
How this study scored 45/100
Published in a peer-reviewed journal. Scored zero for study design, sample size, effect reported, studied in people and randomised / blinded because the record does not state it.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 7 / 10 | Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (European journal of pharmacology) |
| Journal's citation record | 3 / 4 | European Journal of Pharmacology: journal h-index 276 (OpenAlex, 2026-10-29) |
| Study design | 0 / 12 | No study design recorded — scores zero, not guessed (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Strength of evidence | 1 / 5 | Rated “low” in our summary |
| Peer-review validation | 10 / 10 | Peer-reviewed. Published as an article in a named peer-reviewed journal. |
| How recent | 1 / 5 | 2002 — older than 20 years, still counted |
| Sample size | 0 / 4 | Participant count not stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Effect reported | 0 / 3 | No effect size reported — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Studied in people | 0 / 3 | Not stated whether this was studied in people — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Randomised / blinded | 0 / 2 | No randomisation or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Times cited | 6 / 7 | Cited 460 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 3 / 5 | 17.7 citations a year over 26 year(s) since 2002 |
| Impact for its field and year | 4 / 6 | Cited 12.5× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 2 / 6 | Cited by 4 other studies in this library |
| Still being cited | 1 / 4 | Cited 14 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | 3 / 4 | Last-listed author Willem Hendrik Gispen: h-index 68 (OpenAlex, whole career) |
| Institution's track record | 1 / 3 | Utrecht University: institution h-index 1,157 (OpenAlex) |
| Multi-centre collaboration | 1 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 2 institution(s) in 1 country |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 12007915) |
| Free to read | 0 / 2 | Behind a paywall — scores zero |
| Total | 45 / 100 | — |
What each of these 20 components measures, and what this score is not →
Read the original
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Cite this study APA, Vancouver, BibTeX · download .bib or .ris
Built from the record alzhub holds for this paper, not looked up. Volume, issue and page numbers are not held in the record. Check the citation against the original before you use it.
APA 7th
Biessels, G. J., van der Heide, L. P., Kamal, A., Bleys, R. L., & Gispen, W. H. (2002). Ageing and diabetes: implications for brain function. European journal of pharmacology. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0014-2999(02)01486-3
Vancouver
Biessels GJ, van der Heide LP, Kamal A, Bleys RL, Gispen WH. Ageing and diabetes: implications for brain function. European journal of pharmacology. 2002. doi:10.1016/s0014-2999(02)01486-3. PMID: 12007915.
BibTeX
@article{biessels2002-12007915,
author = {Biessels, G. J. and van der Heide, L. P. and Kamal, A. and Bleys, R. L. and Gispen, W. H.},
title = {{Ageing and diabetes: implications for brain function}},
journal = {European journal of pharmacology},
year = {2002},
doi = {10.1016/s0014-2999(02)01486-3},
pmid = {12007915},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1016/s0014-2999(02)01486-3}
}
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