Accumulating epidemiologic and laboratory evidence implicates insulin disorders in the pathophysiology of Alzheimer disease (AD). In this study, researchers evaluated serum insulin and glucose measures, brain volumes, and cognition in 31 nondemented and 31 early-stage AD subjects without diabetes mellitus. The primary measurements of insulin and glucose were the total area under the curve (AUC) of each, as measured during 3-hour IV glucose tolerance tests; secondary measurements included fasting and 2- and 3-hour postload insulin and glucose levels. Whole-brain and hippocampal volumes were determined by structural MRI, and global cognitive performance was measured by a battery of standard psychometric tests.
No measurement of glucose or insu…