The bile acid TUDCA improves glucose homeostasis through increase of insulin levels in mice with Alzheimer's disease

Abstract

Alzheimer's disease (AD) and Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (T2DM) are two of the most prevalent disorders in the elderly population. Studies suggest that people with T2DM have higher risk of developing AD. Likewise, AD brains presents Insulin resistance resulting in low capacity of glucose uptake. There is a growing evidence that insulin resistance and downstream abnormalities in the insulin signaling pathway are present in the AD brain and contribute to the development of cognitive dysfunction. Here we reported that C57BL/6 mice submitted to intracerebroventricular injection of streptozotocin, model of AD, and treated during 10 days with the bile acid TUDCA presented reduced accumulation of A? oligomer in the hippocampus and higher insulin secretion and glucose tolerance, besides improvement in memory test, suggesting that TUDCA treatment interferes with glucose-insulin homeostasis in brain and consequently attenuates AD.