They detect brain changes in patients with type 1 diabetes

Catalan researchers show "compensatory mechanisms" due to the disease

BARCELONA, 19 December (EUROPA PRESS) –

Researchers at the University of Barcelona (UB) found that patients with type 1 diabetes (T1D) had a network of brain connectivity different from that of healthy people, and that the brain developed functional changes, "compensatory mechanisms" to adapt the cognitive alterations of the disease, explained the center in a statement.

The study, published in "Plos One", led by Catalan scientists and conducted in collaboration with Mexican universities, relies on neuroimaging techniques and statistical models and could have implications for the diagnosis of diabetes and diabetes. 39, study of other disorders. with cognitive impairments.

According to the analysis, these adaptations of the brain to pathology "can be very important because patients with type 1 diabetes develop very different connectivity networks from those of healthy people," said the first signatory from the study, Professor Psychology Joan Guàrdia.

15 patients with diabetes

Researchers explored the activation pattern of cerebral connectivity in 15 patients with type 1 diabetes and a control group of 15 healthy individuals with functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), while performing two memory tasks work with visual stimuli and changes in blood flow were measured according to the areas of highest energy consumption.

Although the results of memory tasks are very similar, "patients with T1D experienced a significant reduction in brain activation areas, compared to the control group, which had a more complex connectivity network," explained the authors. .

In addition, the most connected areas in diabetic patients were mainly the cerebellum and the red nucleus, whereas in healthy patients the other brain areas were more active, which normally begins when individuals perform working memory.

"These changes, and the fact that the results of the tasks analyzed are similar, imply that the brain generates compensatory mechanisms to meet the cognitive requirements that allow it to function better," said Guàrdia.

OTHER PATHOLOGIES

The analysis of the differences between the networks of brain connectivity opens new ways to study other population groups, both in healthy people and in patients with different pathologies.

"This study allowed us to demonstrate that a complex network can characterize cognitive performance as part of a differentiating task.We are currently developing the same methodology as that used in this study with patients with mild cognitive impairment, individuals suffering from depression and other groups with cognitive impairments. ", stressed the expert.

Under the guidance of scientists from the Institute of Neuroscience and Research on Complex Systems (UBICS) of UB Joan Guàrdia and Maribel Peró Cebollero, experts from the Mexican Universities of Guadalajara – Geisa Gallardo and Andrés González – and Michoacana participated from San Nicolás de Hidalgo – Esteve Gudayol–.