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Insulin acts like a key to let blood sugar into cells for use as energy. Invisible changes in the body begin long before a person is diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. That’s both bad news (no symptoms mean you won’t know you have it) and good news (you can prevent or delay it if you’re at risk). One of the most important unseen changes? Insulin resistance. Insulin, Blood Sugar, and Type 2 DiabetesInsulin is a key player in developing type 2 diabetes. This vital hormone—you can’t survive without it—regulates blood sugar (glucose) in the body, a very complicated process. Here are the high points:
That’s when everything works smoothly. But this finely tuned system can quickly get out of whack, as follows:
Lots of blood sugar in the bloodstream is very damaging to the body and needs to be moved into cells as soon as possible. There’s lots of insulin, too, telling the liver and muscles to store blood sugar. When they’re full, the liver sends the excess blood sugar to fat cells to be stored as body fat. Yep, weight gain. And what’s more serious, the stage is set for prediabetes and type 2 diabetes. Do You Have Insulin Resistance?How do you find out if you’re insulin resistant? No one test will tell you, but if you have high blood sugar levels, high triglycerides (a kind of blood fat), high LDL (“bad”) cholesterol, and low HDL (“good”) cholesterol, your health care provider may determine you have insulin resistance. Important note: Type 1 diabetes is different; it’s thought to be caused by an autoimmune reaction (the body attacks itself by mistake). People with type 1 diabetes don’t make enough insulin and need to take it to survive. What Causes Insulin Resistance?It isn’t clear exactly what causes insulin resistance, but a family history of type 2 diabetes, being overweight (especially around the waist), and being inactive all can raise the risk. You do not have to be overweight to have insulin resistance. You can’t tell if someone has insulin resistance by looking at them. How to Reverse Insulin ResistanceIf you have insulin resistance, you want to become the opposite—more insulin sensitive (cells are more effective at absorbing blood sugar so less insulin is needed). Physical activity makes you more sensitive to insulin, one reason why it’s a cornerstone of diabetes management (and good health in general!). Don’t wait until you’re diagnosed with diabetes to start moving more. The earlier you take action (literally), the better off you’ll be. Weight loss is important too, as is avoiding high blood sugar, reducing stress, and getting enough sleep (physical activity can help you get more zzz’s too). These lifestyle changes really work. Talk with your health care provider about how to get started. OverviewDementia is a term used to describe a group of symptoms affecting memory, thinking and social abilities severely enough to interfere with your daily life. It isn't a specific disease, but several diseases can cause dementia. Though dementia generally involves memory loss, memory loss has different causes. Having memory loss alone doesn't mean you have dementia, although it's often one of the early signs of the condition. Alzheimer's disease is the most common cause of a progressive dementia in older adults, but there are a number of other causes of dementia. Depending on the cause, some dementia symptoms might be reversible. SymptomsDementia symptoms vary depending on the cause, but common signs and symptoms include: Cognitive changes
Psychological changes
When to see a doctorSee a doctor if you or a loved one has memory problems or other dementia symptoms. Some treatable medical conditions can cause dementia symptoms, so it's important to determine the cause. Sign up for free, and stay up to date on research advancements, health tips and
current health topics, like COVID-19, plus expertise on managing health. To provide you with the most relevant and helpful information, and understand which information is beneficial, we may combine your email and website usage information with other information we have about you. If you are a Mayo Clinic patient, this could include protected health information. If we combine this information with your protected health information, we will treat all of that information as protected health
information and will only use or disclose that information as set forth in our notice of privacy practices. You may opt-out of email communications at any time by clicking on the unsubscribe link in the e-mail. CausesDementia is caused by damage to or loss of nerve cells and their connections in the brain. Depending on the area of the brain that's damaged, dementia can affect people differently and cause different symptoms. Dementias are often grouped by what they have in common, such as the protein or proteins deposited in the brain or the part of the brain that's affected. Some diseases look like dementias, such as those caused by a reaction to medications or vitamin deficiencies, and they might improve with treatment. Progressive dementiasTypes of dementias that progress and aren't reversible include:
Other disorders linked to dementia
Dementia-like conditions that can be reversedSome causes of dementia or dementia-like symptoms can be reversed with treatment. They include:
Risk factorsMany factors can eventually contribute to dementia. Some factors, such as age, can't be changed. Others can be addressed to reduce your risk. Risk factors that can't be changed
Risk factors you can changeYou might be able to control the following risk factors for dementia.
ComplicationsDementia can affect many body systems and, therefore, the ability to function. Dementia can lead to:
PreventionThere's no sure way to prevent dementia, but there are steps you can take that might help. More research is needed, but it might be beneficial to do the following:
Oct. 12, 2022 What is mean level personality change?Mean-level change refers to gains and/or losses in specific personality traits over a pre-specified period of time and age in the life course for a population of individuals. Individual differences in change reflect deviations from these overall, mean-level patterns.
What changes a person's personality?Personality changes can be caused by a mental illness like depression, bipolar disorder, or personality disorders. It may also be caused by physical illnesses like a urinary tract infection (especially in older adults), concussion, or brain tumor. Understanding the cause can help create an effective treatment.
What are the 4 factors that influence personality?There are 4 major determinants of personality which include the physical environment, heredity, experiences and culture.
What is stability in personality?Personality stability is the result of the interplay between the individual and her/his environment. Psychologists use the term person–environment transactions (e.g., Roberts et al., 2008) to capture the mutually transforming interplay between individuals and their contextual circumstances.
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