Magnetic Resonance Neuroimaging Study of Brain Structural Differences in Diabetic

Peripheral Neuropathy

Featured Article:

Dinesh Selvarajah, Iain D. Wilkinson, Michael Maxwell, Jennifer Davies, Adhithya Sankar, Elaine Boland, Rajiv Gandhi, Irene Tracey, and Solomon Tesfaye

Diabetes Care Volume 37: 1681-1688

June, 2014

STUDY OBJECTIVE 

• To investigate any differences in brain structure in subjects with diabetic peripheral neuropathy (DPN)

Selvarajah D. et. al. Diabetes Care 2014;37:1681-1688

STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS

• 36 subjects with type 1 diabetes underwent neurophysiological assessment to quantify the severity of DPN:

• No DPN, n = 18• Painful DPN, n = 9• Painless DPN, n = 9

• All subjects underwent volumetric brain magnetic resonance imaging at 3 Tesla

Selvarajah D. et. al. Diabetes Care 2014;37:1681-1688

RESULTS

• Adjusted peripheral gray matter volume was statistically significantly lower in subjects with painless and painful DPN than in subjects with no DPN and healthy volunteers (HVs)

• Difference was not statistically significant in adjusted peripheral gray matter volume between subjects with no DPN and HVs and those with painful DPN and painless DPN

• Voxel-based morphometry analyses revealed greater localized volume loss in the primary somatosensory cortex, supramarginal gyrus, and cingulate cortex in DPN subjects

Selvarajah D. et. al. Diabetes Care 2014;37:1681-1688

Selvarajah D. et. al. Diabetes Care 2014;37:1681-1688

Selvarajah D. et. al. Diabetes Care 2014;37:1681-1688

CONCLUSIONS

• There is increased peripheral gray matter volume loss localized to regions involved with somatosensory perception in subjects with DPN

• This finding may have important implications for the long-term prognosis of DPN

Selvarajah D. et. al. Diabetes Care 2014;37:1681-1688

Selvarajah D. et. al. Diabetes Care 2014;37:1681-1688