The sugar glucose powers the brain, and a growing body of evidence indicates that a progressively diminishing capacity to make use of glucose contributes to the devastation of mind and personality which is Alzheimer’s disease. An important line of evidence comes from studies using the imaging technique known as positron emission tomography. Here the image on the left is a cross-sectional scan of the brain of a healthy person. The red-orange coloration indicates normal metabolism of glucose. But note the markedly reduced red-orange areas in the image on the right. It was obtained from the same area of the brain—but from an Alzheimer’s patient. GlaxoSmithKline is evaluating a potential therapy informed in part by this observation.
Images by courtesy of Gary Small, M.D., UCLA Medical Center
