Altered brain structural topological properties in type 2 diabetes mellitus patients without complications.
Altered brain structural topological properties in type 2 diabetes mellitus patients without complications
Background: Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is a risk factor for cognitive dysfunction, and white matter (WM) microstructural impairments play a critical role in T2DM?related cognitive decline. Disruptions to the WM have been detected in T2DM patients before clinical diagnosis of cognitive dysfunction. Herein, we investigated changes in brain structural topological properties and their correlation with behavior in T2DM patients without complications.
Methods: Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) structural network topological analysis was performed on T2DM patients and healthy controls. Intergroup differences in global and nodal parameters were analyzed, and correlations between the network parameters and behavioral performance were tested.
Results: Type 2 diabetes mellitus patients exhibited preserved small?world properties, but altered nodal properties, including decreased efficiency in the right hippocampus, right amygdala, left pallidum, left postcentral gyrus, and right pole of the superior temporal gyrus, and increased degree in the right inferior frontal gyrus. Correlations were also found between the altered global and nodal parameters and behavioral performance.
Conclusions: The results verified the existence of WM structural network changes and the association between structural properties and cognitive state in T2DM patients before the occurrence of complications. Research of structural properties may contribute to our understanding of the intrinsic links between T2DM and cognition.