HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS REGISTER		Author Keyword(s) Vol Page [Advanced]

This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) Submit a response Alert me when this article is cited Alert me when eLetters are posted Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this link to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Add article to my folders Download to citation manager Request Permissions Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Biessels, G J Articles by Scheltens, P Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Biessels, G J Articles by Scheltens, P Related Collections Other Neurology Diabetes Dementia

Increased cortical atrophy in patients with Alzheimer’s disease and type 2 diabetes mellitus

¹ The Alzheimer Center, Department of Neurology, VU Medical Center, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
² Department of Radiology, VU Medical Center, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
³ Department of Neurology, University Medical Center St. Radboud, Nijmegen, the Netherlands
⁴ Department of Neurology, University Medical Center Utrecht, the Netherlands

Correspondence to:
Correspondence to:
Dr G Biessels
Department of Neurology G03.228, UMC Utrecht, PO Box 85500, 3508GA Utrecht, the Netherlands; g.j.biessels{at}umcutrecht.nl

Background: The risk of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is increased in type 2 diabetes (DM2). This increased risk has been attributed to vascular comorbidity, but other mechanisms, such as accelerated ageing of the brain, have also been implicated.

Objective: To determine whether AD in patients with DM2 is associated with an increased occurrence of vascular lesions in the brain, by increased cerebral atrophy, or a combination of both.

Methods: In total, 29 patients with AD and DM2 and 58 patients with AD and without DM2 were included in the study. Clinical characteristics were recorded, and a neuropsychological examination and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan were performed. MRI scans were rated for cortical and subcortical atrophy, medial temporal lobe atrophy, white matter lesions, and infarcts.

Results: The neuropsychological profiles of the two groups were identical. Patients with AD and DM2 had increased cortical atrophy on MRI (p<0.05) compared with the non-DM2 group. In addition, infarcts were more common (odds ratio 2.4; 95% CI 0.8 to 7.8), but this effect did not account for the increased atrophy. The other MR measures did not differ between the groups.

Conclusion: The results suggest that non-vascular mechanisms, leading to increased cortical atrophy, are also involved in the increased risk of AD in DM2.

Keywords: type 2 diabetes mellitus; dementia; Alzheimer’s disease; cortical atrophy

This article has been cited by other articles:

				V. A. Gault and C. Holscher Protease-Resistant Glucose-Dependent Insulinotropic Polypeptide Agonists Facilitate Hippocampal LTP and Reverse the Impairment of LTP Induced by Beta-Amyloid J Neurophysiol, April 1, 2008; 99(4): 1590 - 1595. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]