Gray matter prefrontal changes in type 2 diabetes detected using MRI

Abstract

Purpose:To examine the volumes of the gray and white matter both globally and regionally in patients diagnosed with type 2 diabetes and controls. Materials and Methods:Our samples were comprised of 26 patients with type 2 diabetes, 26 patients with diabetes and major depressive disorder, and 25 nondiabetic, nondepressed control subjects. All subjects were studied cross-sectionally on a 1.5 T scanner and were recruited from medicine/diabetes clinics. Both gray and white matter volumes were estimated using an automated method, and the prefrontal areas studied included the anterior cingulate, the gyrus rectus, and the orbitofrontal regions. Results:Patients with diabetes, both with and without depression, had smaller total brain gray matter volumes when compared with the control subjects after controlling for age, intracranial volume, and years of education. This group also had smaller gray matter volumes in the anterior cingulate and orbitofrontal regions when compared with the controls after additionally controlling for total gray matter volume. The depressed and nondepressed diabetic groups did not differ on any neuroimaging measure. Cerebrovascular risk factors correlated negatively with gray matter volumes. Conclusion:The findings indicate that type 2 diabetes is associated with specific neuroanatomical abnormalities in the prefrontal gray matter. Vascular disease might contribute to the findings observed in our sample. These observations have implications for the behavioral sequelae of diabetes.

Cerebral cortical thickness in patients with type 2 diabetes

“…In line with the present results these studies have suggested the medial temporal lobe to be a vulnerable region [7] [8] [9]. Others observed regional effects in the anterior cingulate and orbitofrontal region [18]. Taken together, these studies indicate that despite the fact that T2DM may have an overall effect on brain volume, there also appear to be region specific effects.…”

Shared Neurobiological Pathways Between Type 2 Diabetes and Depressive Symptoms: a Review of Morphological and Neurocognitive Findings

“…This was done to reduce overrepresentation of data reduction in cortical gray matter in regions of interest compared to T2D without MDD who demonstrated smaller comparative reductions in gray matter thickness. Prior work by Kumar and colleagues [68] also showed similar volumetric reductions in gray matter within the anterior cingulate of T2D without MDD patients. Regarding cognitive performance, participants with T2D + MDD performed worse on tasks of attention compared to those with T2D without MDD and healthy controls.…”

“…The authors reported that these findings were consistent with their prior research suggesting that patients with T2D + MDD had smaller prefrontal gray matter volumes. Further, measures of executive functioning and processing speed were also significantly lower among patients with T2D + MDD [68,69].…”

Diabetes-Induced Prefrontal Nissl Substance Deficit and the Effects of Neem-Bitter Leaf Extract Treatment

“…Weak Nissl staining outcome in the prefrontal cortex of diabetic rats suggests reduction of the ribonucleic acid of the rough endoplasmic reticulum of pyramidal cells (with implications for impaired functional activity of these cells and of the prefrontal cortex). Additional anatomic evidence that diabetes has adverse effects on prefrontal morphology came from the study of Kumar et al (2008). Using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), these authors demonstrated specific neuroanatomic deficits in the prefrontal grey matter of type 2 diabetics.…”