NEW DELHI: A landmark international collaboration aiming to uncover how diabetes impacts brain health and contributes to cognitive decline, dementia, and Alzheimer’s disease was announced on Saturday. The initiative marks the first major research effort of its kind in India.
The Madras Diabetes Research Foundation (MDRF), Chennai, has joined forces with the Centre for Brain Research (CBR) at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru, and the UK Dementia Research Institute (UK DRI) to explore early markers of brain ageing in people with diabetes. The multidisciplinary research will integrate clinical, imaging, genomic, and proteomic data to identify pathways that connect diabetes with cognitive impairment.
Dr. V Mohan, Chairman of MDRF, said the study could help explain why dementia tends to occur earlier and progress faster in diabetics. “The new research can help us understand whether good control of diabetes can reverse some of these brain changes. New biochemical markers, detectable 10 to 20 years before clinical dementia, could help us diagnose the condition early,” he said.
Highlighting the growing evidence linking diabetes and neurological decline, Dr. Mohan explained that diabetes not only raises the risk of strokes but can also accelerate brain degeneration, leading to conditions such as Alzheimer’s disease. “The incidence of dementia is roughly twice as high among diabetic individuals compared to non-diabetic people of the same age,” he noted.
He further added that the relationship between diabetes and dementia works both ways. “Dementia can worsen diabetes because patients may neglect diet, exercise, or medication schedules, leading to erratic blood sugar levels. Similarly, both hyperglycemia and hypoglycemia can exacerbate cognitive decline.”
Dr. R. M. Anjana, President of MDRF, said the collaboration would leverage international expertise and data to identify early indicators of brain ageing among diabetics. “This could pave the way for preventive and therapeutic breakthroughs,” she said.
Welcoming the partnership, Prof. Siddharthan Chandran, Director and Chief Executive of UK DRI, described it as a crucial step in uniting global expertise to address one of science’s pressing challenges. “Understanding how metabolic disorders influence brain function is vital. Collaborations like this are key to accelerating discoveries with real-world benefits,” he said.
Professor KVS Hari, Director of CBR at IISc Bengaluru, said the centre’s focus on brain ageing and neurodegenerative diseases aligns seamlessly with this initiative. “By integrating large-scale clinical and biomedical data, we aim to identify the connections between metabolic dysfunction and cognitive health,” he noted.
Professor Henrik Zetterberg of the University of Gothenburg and visiting faculty at CBR called the collaboration an “exciting frontier in dementia research.” He said that studying metabolic factors alongside brain biomarkers could yield deeper insights into disease mechanisms and guide new intervention strategies.
The study represents a major step forward in recognising diabetes not only as a metabolic disorder but also as a condition with far-reaching neurological consequences—underscoring the urgent need for integrated research bridging endocrinology and neuroscience.
