211-OR: Differential Cerebral Blood Flow in Controlled and Uncontrolled Patients with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus

• Published in: Diabetes (New York, N.Y.) Vol. 70; no. Supplement_1
• Main Authors: CHOI, SARAH E., ROY, BHASWATI, FREEBY, MATTHEW, KUMAR, RAJESH
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York American Diabetes Association 01.06.2021
• Subjects: Age; Amygdala; Blood flow; Brain mapping; Cerebellum; Cerebral blood flow; Cognitive ability; Diabetes; Diabetes mellitus (non-insulin dependent); Hemoglobin; Hypothalamus; Magnetic resonance imaging; Medulla oblongata; Mesencephalon; Mood; Neuroimaging; Parahippocampal gyrus; Pons; Putamen; Spin labeling; Thalamus
• ISSN: 0012-1797; 1939-327X
• DOI: 10.2337/db21-211-OR

Introduction: Patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) show variable brain tissue changes and mood and cognitive symptoms, which may result from altered cerebral blood flow (CBF). However, the regional CBF status in controlled and uncontrolled T2DM patients remains unclear, which can be examined with arterial spin labeling (ASL) imaging. Our aim was to examine regional CBF between controlled and uncontrolled T2DM patients using ASL imaging procedures. Methods: We collected hemoglobin A1c (A1C) data and 3D pseudo-continuous ASL data from 32 T2DM patients (16 controlled [A1C < 7%], age, 56.5±6.5 years; BMI, 29.6±6.2 kg/m2; 8 female; 16 uncontrolled [A1C ≥ 7%], age, 57.6±7.5 years; BMI, 30.0±5.1 kg/m2; 11 female) using a 3.0-Tesla MRI. A1C was measured by point-of-care testing. Whole-brain CBF maps were calculated, normalized to a common space, smoothed, and compared between groups (controlled T2DM patients vs. uncontrolled T2DM patients) using analysis of covariance (SPM12; covariates, age and sex; p<0.05). Results: No significant differences in age or sex appeared between groups. Multiple brain areas showed decreased CBF values in the cingulate, caudate, putamen, insula, hippocampus, amygdala, thalamus, hypothalamus, midbrain, cerebellum, prefrontal and frontal, and temporal cortices in uncontrolled T2DM patients over controlled T2DM patients. However, few brain sites in controlled T2DM patients, including the cerebellum, pons, medulla, parahippocampal gyrus, and temporal cortices showed reduced CBF over uncontrolled T2DM patients. Conclusion: Uncontrolled T2DM patients show significant reduction in CBF compared to controlled T2DM in areas that are involved in mood and cognition regulation. The findings suggest that uncontrolled levels may contribute to reduce regional CBF leading to site-specific tissue changes resulting to mood and cognition deficits in the condition. Disclosure S. E. Choi: None. B. Roy: None. M. Freeby: Research Support; Self; Abbott Diabetes, Novo Nordisk Inc. R. Kumar: None. Funding National Institutes of Health (1R01NR017190-03, 3R01NR017190-03S1)