Abstract
BackgroundMetabolic syndrome and its individual components lead to wide-ranging consequences, many of which affect the central nervous system. In this study, we compared the [18F]FDG regional brain metabolic pattern of participants with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and non-DM obese individuals.MethodsIn our prospective study, 51 patients with controlled T2DM (ages 50.6 ± 8.0 years) and 45 non-DM obese participants (ages 52.0 ± 9.6 years) were enrolled. Glucose levels measured before PET/CT examination (pre-PET glucose) as well as laboratory parameters assessing glucose and lipid status were determined. NeuroQ application (NeuroQTM 3.6, Syntermed, Philips) was used to evaluate regional brain metabolic differences. [18F]FDG PET/CT (AnyScan PC, Mediso) scans, estimating brain metabolism, were transformed to MNI152 brain map after T1 registration and used for SPM-based group comparison of brain metabolism corrected for pre-PET glucose, and correlation analysis with laboratory parameters.ResultsNeuroQ analysis did not reveal significant regional metabolic defects in either group. Voxel-based group comparison revealed significantly (PFWE<0.05) decreased metabolism in the region of the precuneus and in the right superior frontal gyrus (rSFG) in the diabetic group as compared to the obese patients. Data analysis corrected for pre-PET glucose level showed a hypometabolic difference only in the rSFG in T2DM. Voxel-based correlation analysis showed significant negative correlation of the metabolism in the following brain regions with pre-PET glucose in diabetes: precuneus, left posterior orbital gyrus, right calcarine cortex and right orbital part of inferior frontal gyrus; whilst in the obese group only the right rolandic (pericentral) operculum proved to be sensitive to pre-PET glucose level.ConclusionsTo our knowledge, this is the first study to perform pre-PET glucose level corrected comparative analysis of brain metabolism in T2DM and obesity. We also examined the pre-PET glucose level dependency of regional cerebral metabolism in the two groups separately. Large-scale future studies are warranted to perform further correlation analysis with the aim of determining the effects of metabolic disturbances on brain metabolism.
Highlights
Metabolic diseases, such as type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and obesity, represent a major and escalating public-health problem worldwide
We investigated and compared the regional brain metabolic pattern with [18F]FDG in patients with T2DM and obesity to evaluate what cerebral metabolic alterations might be induced by metabolic disturbances as well as the association with different laboratory parameters
Laboratory parameters, the main anthropometric characteristics of the patients and the performed diagnostic examinations are shown in Tables 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5
Summary
Metabolic diseases, such as type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and obesity, represent a major and escalating public-health problem worldwide. Due to wide-spread lifestyle changes, lack of physical activity, high fat and refined carbohydrate rich diet, and further environmental, genetic and epigenetic factors, the incidence and the prevalence of metabolic diseases are gaining traction. Both T2DM and obesity are clinically important components of today’s endemic commonly referred to as metabolic syndrome (MetS) (Ginsberg & MacCallum, 2009). We compared the [18F]FDG regional brain metabolic pattern of participants with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and non-DM obese individuals
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
