Maintaining normal blood sugar levels may help prevent age-related memory decline, according to a new study published in the December issue of Annals of Neurology.

Thanks to high-resolution brain imaging, Dr. Scott Small, an associate professor of neurology at the Taub Institute for Research on Alzheimer's Disease and the Aging Brain at Columbia University Medical Center in New York City, and colleagues found that increased blood sugar levels are linked to an important area of the brain – hippocampus - which is connected to memory loss.

The results point to the idea that, fortunately, age-related memory decline may be prevented. Eating a healthy diet, on top of getting regular exercise are two factors that help the body and the brain in the aging process.

"Elevations in blood glucose levels differentially target the dentate gyrus part of the hippocampus implicated in aging and, as we age, we develop a slight but gradually worsening difficulty in handling blood sugar levels," Small explains.

The research, led by Dr. Small, was funded by the National Institute on Aging, the American Diabetes Association, and the McKnight Brain Research Foundation. It looked at factors that naturally alter during the process of aging, such as increasing body mass index, blood sugar, cholesterol, as well as insulin levels.

According to Dr. Marcelle Morrison-Bogorad, NIA Division of Neuroscience director, brain imaging was used in human volunteers and, likewise, in animal models in order to better understand “the basic mechanisms behind hippocampal dysfunction” in the elderly.