Early detection of cognitive impairment in type 2 diabetes mellitus

Abstract

Objective To explore the methods for early detection of cognitive impairment in type 2 diabetic patients. Methods With the results from the mini-mental state examination (MMSE) ,48 patients of type 2 diabetes mellitus with cognitive impairment (group B) and 52 without cognitive impairment (group A) wereenrolled. And 40 healthy subjects served as control. The clinical, laboratory, and imaging data of these subjects were compared. Results No differences in the prevalence of carotid atherosclerosis, serum HbA_1C, triglycerides, high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein-cholesteroi, body mass index, and waist-to-hip ratio were found between groups A and B. Atrophy of temporal lobe and hippocampus was more marked in group A than that in group B by MRI. The demyelinating changes were found both in group B (35%)and A (12%). Among 3 groups, group B had the longest latency of mismatch negativity (MMN) and P300 and the lowest amplitude of MMN ; the order was followed by group A and control group (all P<0.05). Logistic regression analysis showed that the findings in MRI, P300, MMN were negatively correlated with cognitive impairment in type 2 diabetes mellitus. Conclusion MRI, MMN, and P300 are helpful in detecting cognitive impairment in type 2 diabetic patients. MMN seems to be more sensitive in early detection of the impairment. Key words: Diabetes mellitus, type 2 ; Cognitive impairment; Mismatch negativity