Among the many complications patients with diabetes can experience, cognitive decline is one of them. Diabetes-induced cognitive decline, or DICD, begins with damage to the central nervous system and can result in impaired learning, memory, and judgment. A recent study found that in mice with DICD, injection with the antidiabetic protein FGF1 improved cognition. In a water maze task designed to test memory, diabetic mice treated with FGF1 (db/db+FGF1) reached their goal significantly faster than untreated mice with diabetes (db/db). And the brains of untreated mice (db/db) showed more shrinkage than those of treated mice (db/db+FGF1). Further research should help clarify how FGF1 reduces symptoms of both diabetes and DICD and whether FGF1 might be an effective treatment option for patients with DICD.