Structural and functional brain abnormal alteration in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus: A coordinate-based...

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Medical research
• Endocrinology

Background:

• Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is a widespread condition affecting brain function and structure.
• Previous research on T2DM-related brain changes yielded inconsistent results due to disease variability and limited sample sizes.
• This study addresses these limitations by examining common neural alterations in T2DM.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate common functional and structural brain alterations in patients with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (T2DM).
• To identify consistent neurobiological markers associated with T2DM.

Main Methods:

• A comprehensive literature search was conducted across PubMed, Web of Science, and Embase databases for studies published before July 2023.
• Meta-analysis using anisotropic effect size seed-based d mapping (AES-SDM) was employed to assess neural activity and grey matter volume (GMV) changes in 2160 T2DM patients and 2124 healthy controls.
• Activation likelihood estimation (ALE) and multilevel kernel density analysis (MKDA) were used for validation.

Main Results:

• Patients with T2DM demonstrated altered neural activity, default mode network functional connectivity, and GMV in visual processing regions, including the occipital lobe, lingual gyrus, and Heschl's gyrus.
• Additional functional and structural changes were observed in brain regions associated with sensory-motor functions, cognition, and attention.
• Findings from ALE and MKDA meta-analyses corroborated the AES-SDM results.

Conclusions:

• The study provides robust neural markers for T2DM.
• These findings enhance the understanding of the neurobiological basis of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus.