title: Three-year follow-up on scintigraphically assessed cardiac sympathetic denervation in patients with long-term insulin-dependent (type I) diabetes mellitus.
abstract: Scintigraphy using I-123-metaiodobenzylguanidine (I-123-MIBG) and Tc-99m-methoxyisobutylisonitrile (Tc-99m-MIBI) allows assessment of the cardiac sympathetic innervation and the myocardial perfusion. To investigate the natural history of cardiac sympathetic denervation in long-term diabetic patients without myocardial perfusion defects, global and regional I-123-MIBG and Tc-99m-MIBI uptake was determined (score 1-6; 1 = normal uptake, 6 = no uptake) in 22 patients with insulin-dependent (type I) diabetes mellitus (IDDM) at 3-year follow-up. All patients were treated with intensive insulin therapy and HbA1c was 8.0% +/- 1.0% at entry compared with 7.9% +/- 1.1% at follow-up. Cardiac sympathetic denervation (I-123-MIBG uptake score > 2), initially observed in 18 patients, was detectable in 21 patients at follow-up. The global myocardial I-123-MIBG uptake score deteriorated in eight patients, remained unchanged in 11 and improved in three patients. The changes in mean global I-123-MIBG uptake score (3.5 +/- 1.0 versus 3.8 +/- 0.8) were not significant. Reduction of the anterior, lateral, posterior, septal, and apical I-123-MIBG uptake did not progress significantly during follow-up. The mean uptake score of the posterior myocardial region (4.7 +/- 0.8) was smaller than the uptake score of the anterior (3.0 +/- 1.1, p = 0.001), lateral (3.2 +/- 0.9, p < 0.001) and septal (4.1 +/- 1.1, p < 0.05) myocardial regions. At follow-up, moderate myocardial perfusion defects (global Tc-99m-MIBI uptake score = 3) were detectable in four patients. Our study demonstrates that scintigraphically assessed cardiac sympathetic denervation does neither significantly regress nor progress on the average in a group of long-term IDDM patients during a 3-year follow-up. Thus, it is concluded that cardiac sympathetic abnormalities are a persistent, yet frequent phenomenon in long-term IDDM patients.
authors.affiliation: Diabetes Research Institute, Schwabing City Hospital, Munich, Germany.
authors.forename: O
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Schnell
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Muhr
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Weiss
authors.forename: C M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Kirsch
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Haslbeck
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Tatsch
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Standl
mesh_terms: D019797:3-Iodobenzylguanidine / Q000378:metabolism; D000328:Adult; D003922:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 1 / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000503:physiopathology*; D003929:Diabetic Neuropathies / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000503:physiopathology*; D004562:Electrocardiography; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006321:Heart / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000294:innervation / Q000503:physiopathology; D006801:Humans; D007457:Iodine Radioisotopes; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009206:Myocardium / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology*; D011877:Radionuclide Imaging; D019275:Radiopharmaceuticals / Q000378:metabolism; D013564:Sympathetic Nervous System / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000503:physiopathology*; D017256:Technetium Tc 99m Sestamibi / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D007457:Iodine Radioisotopes; D019275:Radiopharmaceuticals; D019797:3-Iodobenzylguanidine; D017256:Technetium Tc 99m Sestamibi