Association between Risk Factors for Vascular Dementia and Adiponectin

Figure 2

Adiponectin improves insulin sensitivity and reduces diabetes and vascular dementia risk. Adiponectin stimulates AMPK phosphorylation, GLUT4 translocation, and MAPK pathways. Adiponectin also reduces the levels of triglyceride. Consequentially, adiponectin increases glucose uptake and insulin sensitivity and reduces insulin resistance. In addition, adiponectin improves the cognitive decline by modulating impaired insulin signal transduction in vascular dementia brain. These mechanisms decrease the risk of diabetes and vascular dementia. Also, these mechanisms improve the memory dysfunction in dementia. AMPK: AMP-activated kinase, GLUT4: glucose transporter type 4, and MAPK: mitogen activated protein kinase.