Network-level structural abnormalities of cerebral cortex in type 1 diabetes mellitus.
Type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) usually begins in childhood and adolescence and causes lifelong damage to several major organs including the brain. Despite increasing evidence of T1DM-induced structural deficits in cortical regions implicated in higher cognitive and emotional functions, little is known whether and how the structural connectivity between these regions is altered in the T1DM brain. Using inter-regional covariance of cortical thickness measurements from high-resolution T1-weighted magnetic resonance data, we examined the topological organizations of cortical structural networks in 81 T1DM patients and 38 healthy subjects. We found a relative absence of hierarchically high-level hubs in the prefrontal lobe of T1DM patients, which suggests ineffective top-down control of the prefrontal cortex in T1DM. Furthermore, inter-network connections between the strategic/executive control system and systems subserving other cortical functions including language and mnemonic/emotional processing were also less integrated in T1DM patients than in healthy individuals. The current results provide structural evidence for T1DM-related dysfunctional cortical organization, which specifically underlie the top-down cognitive control of language, memory, and emotion.
Ewha Brain Institute & College of Pharmacy, Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Ewha W. University, Seoul, South Korea.
In Kyoon
IK
Lyoo
Sujung
S
Yoon
Perry F
PF
Renshaw
Jaeuk
J
Hwang
Sujin
S
Bae
Gail
G
Musen
Jieun E
JE
Kim
Nicolas
N
Bolo
Hyeonseok S
HS
Jeong
Donald C
DC
Simonson
Sun Hea
SH
Lee
Katie
K
Weinger
Jiyoung J
JJ
Jung
Christopher M
CM
Ryan
Yera
Y
Choi
Alan M
AM
Jacobson
D000328:Adult; D001921:Brain / Q000473:pathology; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000473:pathology*; D003922:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 1 / Q000473:pathology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009415:Nerve Net / Q000473:pathology*; D009434:Neural Pathways / Q000473:pathology