Blood sugar processing tied to brain problems

People with diabetes experience more short-term-memory problems on average than do people without the disease. Researchers now report that some nondiabetic people who nevertheless have slightly elevated blood sugar concentrations also have short-term memory impairment.

Moreover, these people have a smaller hippocampus on average than do those without high blood sugar, report Antonio Convit, a psychiatrist at the Nathan Kline Research Institute for Psychiatric Research in Orangeburg, N.Y.,