Parkinson's disease caused by diabetes mellitus: pathophysiology and potential treatments

Abstract

There have been growing indications that persons with Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) have a higher risk of getting Parkinson's. Insulin is the hormone responsible for energy metabolism and glucose regulation. However, several reports have demonstrated that insulin can pass across the brain-blood junction and affect multiple processes within the brain. Furthermore, there has been increasing proof that an event similar to peripheral insulin insensitivity takes place in the brains of Parkinson's disease individuals, regardless of diabetes. This brings up the notion that faulty glucose signaling pathways are to blame for the emergence of pathological aspects of Parkinson's disease (PD), implying that the glucose signaling pathway could be an alternative target for disease management. After identifying the linkages between Parkinson's disease and T2DM, it is perhaps not unexpected that medications used to treat T2DM and phytotherapy are among the most effective therapy options being prioritized as innovative treatments for PD. Thus, this study explored the shared pathogenic mechanisms and metabolic pathways that link DM and Parkinson's disease with different PD therapies.