Hypometabolism is an ab normal
decrease in metabolic rate, in the
case of Alzheimer’s disease, a
decrease in glucose metabolism. The
human brain is considered to be one of
the most metabolically active organs in
the body, and under normal circumstances,
the brain relies on glucose
almost exclusively as its primary energy
source. An average person’s brain will
metabolize approximately 110 to 145
g/day of glucose.1
This dependence on glucose to
maintain proper function places the
brain at risk for declines in cognitive
function when the supply of glucose
is compromised or if defects in the
ability to metabolize glucose arise.2
Hypo-metabolism can, therefore, pose
a serious threat to the cognitive
health of a person.
LINK TO ALZHEIMER’S
There are 5.3 million Americans suffering
from Alzheimer’s disease; care for
these patients costs $148 billion a year.3
Despite this, Alzheimer’s disease remains
a largely untreated condition because
the development of effective treatments
relies on identifying the underlying factors
that give rise to the clinical symptoms
of the disease. One such target is
the well-characterized decrease in glucose
metabolism that occurs in the brain
of an Alzheimer’s patient.
As identified by deLeon et al in 1983,
a prominent feature of Alzhei mer’s disease
is the disturbance of the cerebral
metabolic rate of glucose or regional
cerebral hypo metabolism.4 This occurs
early in the disease and may contribute
to both the cognitive decline and the
pathology that are hallmarks of the
disease.1 According to Costantini et al,
because hypometabolism is an early and
progressive event in Alzhei mer’s disease,
and may lead to downstream pathologic
events, it is reasonable to target
hypometabolism as a treatment for
Alzheimer’s disease. As a result, one
therapeutic goal in the management of
Alzheimer’s disease is to improve the
neuronal energy state.