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Why diabetes matters in dementia studies. Excluding diabetes status masks regional mitochondrial DNA copy number changes in human hippocampus, amygdala, and cerebellum in Alzheimers disease

Kaikini, A.; Shi, A.; Francis, P.; Swerdlow, R. H.; Troakes, C.; Kennedy, J.; Hodgkinson, A.; Malik, A. N.

2026-06-08 neuroscience
10.64898/2026.06.03.729204 bioRxiv
Show abstract

STRUCTURED ABSTRACTO_ST_ABSINTRODUCTIONC_ST_ABSDiabetes is a major risk factor for Alzheimers disease (AD), and both diseases involve mitochondrial dysfunction. We hypothesised that AD is associated with reduced mitochondrial DNA copy number (mtDNA-CN) in vulnerable brain regions, and that diabetes modifies these changes. METHODSPost-mortem hippocampus, amygdala, and cerebellum samples (N=66-77) from non-cognitively impaired (NCI) and AD donors, with and without diabetes, were analysed. mtDNA-CN was quantified by absolute quantification. RESULTSOverall, mtDNA-CN was lower in AD. However, stratification by diabetes revealed opposite changes: non-diabetic AD cases showed reduced mtDNA-CN, whereas diabetic cases showed higher mtDNA-CN across all regions irrespective of cognitive status. DISCUSSIONThese findings confirm multiregional loss of mtDNA-CN in the AD brain, most evident in the absence of diabetes. The functional significance of higher mtDNA-CN in the diabetic brain remains unclear, but evidence that diabetes can mask effects has important implications for dementia studies.

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