Elevated blood sugar levels may be responsible for memory lapses that frequently occur with increasing age, new research suggests.

By using 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 discovered that raised blood sugar levels are associated with the hippocampus, an important area of the brain which is linked to memory decline.

Published in the December issue of the journal Annals Of Neurology, the study’s results call attention to the idea that there is a way to prevent age-related memory loss. Getting regular exercise and eating a healthy diet are two factors that can help the body and the brain in the process of aging.

Lead researcher Dr. Small said that it was already known that exercise enhances blood sugar and also helps prevent age-related memory loss. But this research showed the particular area of the brain that is affected by increasing blood sugar levels.

Investigators looked at how this specific area - the dentate gyrus - is impacted by changes that naturally occur in the aging process, such as increasing body mass index, rising cholesterol, insulin and blood sugar.

"Showing for the first time that blood glucose selectively targets the dentate gyrus is not only our most conclusive finding, but it is the most important for 'normal' ageing,” Small said.

The study was funded by the National Institute on Aging, the American Diabetes Association and the McKnight Brain Research Foundation