Diabetes, Metabolic Syndrome and Obesity (Oct 2023)

The Role of Iron Overload in Diabetic Cognitive Impairment: A Review

  • An JR,
  • Wang QF,
  • Sun GY,
  • Su JN,
  • Liu JT,
  • Zhang C,
  • Wang L,
  • Teng D,
  • Yang YF,
  • Shi Y

Journal volume & issue
Vol. Volume 16
pp. 3235 – 3247

Abstract

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Ji-Ren An,1,2,* Qing-Feng Wang,1,* Gui-Yan Sun,1 Jia-Nan Su,1 Jun-Tong Liu,1 Chi Zhang,1 Li Wang,1 Dan Teng,3 Yu-Feng Yang,1 Yan Shi1 1Liaoning Key Laboratory of Chinese Medicine Combining Disease and Syndrome of Diabetes, Liaoning University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shenyang, 110847, People’s Republic of China; 2College of Integrative Chinese and Western Medicine, Hebei University of Chinese Medicine, Shijiazhuang, 050200, People’s Republic of China; 3He University, Shenyang, 110163, People’s Republic of China*These authors contributed equally to this workCorrespondence: Yu-Feng Yang; Yan Shi, Liaoning Key Laboratory of Chinese Medicine Combining Disease and Syndrome of Diabetes, Liaoning University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Huanggu District, No. 79, Mount Chong East Road, Shenyang, 110847, People’s Republic of China, Email [email protected]; [email protected]: It is well documented that diabetes mellitus (DM) is strongly associated with cognitive decline and structural damage to the brain. Cognitive deficits appear early in DM and continue to worsen as the disease progresses, possibly due to different underlying mechanisms. Normal iron metabolism is necessary to maintain normal physiological functions of the brain, but iron deposition is one of the causes of some neurodegenerative diseases. Increasing evidence shows that iron overload not only increases the risk of DM, but also contributes to the development of cognitive impairment. The current review highlights the role of iron overload in diabetic cognitive impairment (DCI), including the specific location and regulation mechanism of iron deposition in the diabetic brain, the factors that trigger iron deposition, and the consequences of iron deposition. Finally, we also discuss possible therapies to improve DCI and brain iron deposition.Keywords: diabetic cognitive impairment, type 1 diabetes mellitus, type 2 diabetes mellitus, iron overload, iron transport, iron homeostasis

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