Today's Linkage: Obesity, Diabetes, and Alzheimer's

Researchers say they've identified the mechanism in the brain that connects longevity to eating right, controlling weight, and exercising.

Howard Hughes Medical Institute's Dr. Morris White says that

"Diet, exercise and lower weight keep your peripheral tissues sensitive to insulin. That reduces the amount and duration of insulin secretion needed to keep your glucose under control when you eat. Therefore, the brain is exposed to less insulin. Since insulin turns on Irs2 (an insulin receptor) in the brain, that means lower Irs2 activity, which we've linked to longer lifespan in the mouse."

The HHMI press release is here.

White hypothesizes that too much insulin -- linked to obesity and diabetes -- could use this mechanism to accelerate the development of Alzheimer's disease, Huntington's disease, and dementia (severely declining brain performance). Their next research will investigate this further.