Brain damage already visible in diabetes at an early stage

People with prediabetes already have subtle damage in the white matter of their brain, which can eventually lead to a deterioration of cognitive functioning. Prediabetes is a precursor to type 2 diabetes. At this stage, a lifestyle change can have positive effects and prevent a person from getting type 2 diabetes. The results of this UMC + study from Maastricht show once again that prediabetes is not an innocent condition. The results were recently published in the journal Diabetes Care.

For this study, MRI scans of 2,200 participants in the Maastricht study were analyzed, of which nearly 350 were prediabetic. This large cohort study examines the development, evolution, and treatment of diabetes and prediabetes on various fronts. To determine if a person is prediabetes, blood glucose tests are performed. If the body does not treat blood sugar well, but not so much that there is diabetes, it is called prediabetes

Prevention

Dr. Miranda Schram, one of the researchers: "Prediabetes is not yet an official disease, but it is becoming increasingly obvious that damage already occurs at this stage.The sooner you start eating healthily and to exercise, the more likely you are to prevent diabetes. "The damage caused by insufficient blood flow (also called ischemic damage), which indicates a lack of oxygen, mainly affects people. prediabetic. the white matter in the brain. This connects different areas of the brain to each other. It has been known for some time that diabetics suffer from this type of damage to the brain, which increases the risk of cognitive problems 15 to 20 years later.