High triglyceride-glucose index significantly associated with faster cognitive decline in the MCI-Alzheimer disease subgroup<\/p>\n<\/h3>\n
By Elana Gotkine HealthDay Reporter<\/b>
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MONDAY, June 30, 2025 (HealthDay News) — For patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) associated with Alzheimer disease (AD), those in the highest tertile of the triglyceride-glucose (TyG) index experience faster cognitive decline, according to a study presented at the 11th Congress of the European Academy of Neurology, held from June 21 to 24 in Helsinki.<\/p>\n
Bianca Gumina, M.D., from the University of Brescia in Italy, and colleagues conducted a retrospective study to examine insulin resistance (using TyG as a surrogate marker for insulin resistance) as a progression marker in patients with a cerebral spinal fluid-based diagnosis of AD or other neurodegenerative diseases (NDDs) who were nondiabetic. Patients were stratified into tertiles according to TyG index (low, medium, high). A total of 315 patients entered the study: 210 with AD and 115 with other NDDs.<\/p>\n
The researchers found that high TyG index was linked to worse blood-brain-barrier markers in AD and interacted with APOE<\/em> \u03b54, with no effect seen in other NDDs. More cardiovascular risk factors were exhibited in patients with AD with high TyG index, while baseline characteristics were similar. In the MCI-AD subgroup (161 patients), high TyG index was significantly associated with faster cognitive decline over three years of follow-up (hazard ratio, 4.08). For MCI-to-dementia conversion, there was a similar but nonsignificant trend observed. For progression, there was no significant TyG index-APOE<\/em> interaction. In the other NDDs group, TyG index showed no impact on clinical progression.<\/p>\n “We were surprised to see the effect only in the Alzheimer’s spectrum and not in other neurodegenerative diseases,” Gumina said in a statement. “It suggests a disease-specific vulnerability to metabolic stress during the prodromal window, when interventions may still change the trajectory.”<\/p>\n Abstract No. OPR-066<\/a><\/p>\n