Abstract
Recent studies have demonstrated alterations in the topological organization of structural brain networks in diabetes mellitus (DM). However, the DM-related changes in the topological properties in functional brain networks are unexplored so far. We therefore used fluoro-D-glucose positron emission tomography (FDG-PET) data to construct functional brain networks of 73 DM patients and 91 sex- and age-matched normal controls (NCs), followed by a graph theoretical analysis. We found that both DM patients and NCs had a small-world topology in functional brain network. In comparison to the NC group, the DM group was found to have significantly lower small-world index, lower normalized clustering coefficients and higher normalized characteristic path length. Moreover, for diabetic patients, the nodal centrality was significantly reduced in the right rectus, the right cuneus, the left middle occipital gyrus, and the left postcentral gyrus, and it was significantly increased in the orbitofrontal region of the left middle frontal gyrus, the left olfactory region, and the right paracentral lobule. Our results demonstrated that the diabetic brain was associated with disrupted topological organization in the functional PET network, thus providing functional evidence for the abnormalities of brain networks in DM.
Highlights
Diabetes mellitus (DM) has emerged as an important risk factor for cognitive dysfunction and dementia
This study showed that the normalized clustering coefficient γ was significantly smaller in the diabetes mellitus (DM) group than in the normal controls (NCs) group, the normalized characteristic path length λ was significantly longer in the DM group than in the NC group, and the small-world index σ was significantly smaller in the DM group than in the NC group (P < 0.05)
Our main findings included the following: (1) Both DM patients and NCs had a small-world topology in functional brain network; (2) The DM group was found to have significantly lower smallworld index, lower normalized clustering coefficients, and higher normalized characteristic path length compared with NC group; (3) The spatial distribution of hub regions and nodal centrality were changed in DM group
Summary
Diabetes mellitus (DM) has emerged as an important risk factor for cognitive dysfunction and dementia. A growing number of studies have provided significant insights into the abnormalities in the functional integration of the entire brain networks (Lyoo et al, 2013; Reijmer et al, 2013b; van Duinkerken et al, 2016). A study performed diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) and found damage to the brain white matter network in type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) patients, which was related to slowing of information processing speed (Reijmer et al, 2013b). Studies of the brain network using neuroimaging technology may provide a new approach for the diagnosis and treatment of this disease
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