title: Age related changes in pancreatic beta cells: A putative extra-cerebral site of Alzheimer's pathology.
abstract: Frequent concomitant manifestation of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and Alzheimer's disease (AD) has been recently demonstrated by epidemiological studies. This might be due to functional similarities between β-cells and neurons, such as secretion on demand of highly specific molecules in a tightly controlled fashion. An additional similarity represents the age-related alteration of hyperphosphorylated tau in AD patients. Similarly, alterations have been identified in β-cells of T2DM patients. The islet amyloid polypeptide has been associated with β-cell apoptosis. As a consequence of increasing age, the accumulation of highly modified proteins together with decreased regenerative potential might lead to increasing rates of apoptosis. Moreover, reduction of β-cell replication capabilities results in reduction of β-cell mass in mammals, simultaneously with impaired glucose tolerance. The new challenge is to learn much more about age-related protein modifications. This can lead to new treatment strategies for reducing the incidence of T2DM and AD.
authors.affiliation: Magdalena Maj, Aysegul Ilhan, Dashurie Neziri, Wolfgang Gartner, Department of Internal Medicine III, Division of Nephrology and Dialysis, Medical University of Vienna, 1090 Vienna, Austria.
authors.forename: Magdalena
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Maj
authors.forename: Aysegul
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ilhan
authors.forename: Dashurie
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Neziri
authors.forename: Wolfgang
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Gartner
authors.forename: Tord
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Berggard
authors.forename: Johannes
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Attems
authors.forename: Wolfgang
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Base
authors.forename: Ludwig
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Wagner