Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Biomedical Engineering, School of Biological Science and Medical Engineering, Beihang University, Beijing, China.
Department of Neurology, Beijing Tiantan Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China.
Hum Brain Mapp. 2024 Feb 1;45(2):e26598. doi: 10.1002/hbm.26598.
The network nature of the brain is gradually becoming a consensus in the neuroscience field. A set of highly connected regions in the brain network called "rich-club" are crucial high efficiency communication hubs in the brain. The abnormal rich-club organization can reflect underlying abnormal brain function and metabolism, which receives increasing attention. Diabetes is one of the risk factors for neurological diseases, and most individuals with prediabetes will develop overt diabetes within their lifetime. However, the gradual impact of hyperglycemia on brain structures, including rich-club organization, remains unclear. We hypothesized that the brain follows a special disrupted pattern of rich-club organization in prediabetes and diabetes. We used cross-sectional baseline data from the population-based PolyvasculaR Evaluation for Cognitive Impairment and vaScular Events (PRECISE) study, which included 2218 participants with a mean age of 61.3 ± 6.6 years and 54.1% females comprising 1205 prediabetes, 504 diabetes, and 509 normal control subjects. The rich-club organization and network properties of the structural networks derived from diffusion tensor imaging data were investigated using a graph theory approach. Linear mixed models were used to assess associations between rich-club organization disruptions and the subjects' glucose status. Based on the graphical analysis methods, we observed the disrupted pattern of rich-club organization was from peripheral regions mainly located in frontal areas to rich-club regions mainly located in subcortical areas from prediabetes to diabetes. The rich-club organization disruptions were associated with elevated glucose levels. These findings provided more details of the process by which hyperglycemia affects the brain, contributing to a better understanding of the potential neurological consequences. Furthermore, the disrupted pattern observed in rich-club organization may serve as a potential neuroimaging marker for early detection and monitoring of neurological disorders in individuals with prediabetes or diabetes.
大脑的网络性质在神经科学领域逐渐成为共识。大脑网络中的一组高度连接的区域称为“富俱乐部”，是大脑中至关重要的高效通信枢纽。异常的富俱乐部组织可以反映潜在的异常大脑功能和代谢，这越来越受到关注。糖尿病是神经疾病的风险因素之一，大多数糖尿病前期患者在其一生中都会发展为明显的糖尿病。然而，高血糖对大脑结构（包括富俱乐部组织）的逐渐影响尚不清楚。我们假设，在糖尿病前期和糖尿病中，大脑遵循一种特殊的富俱乐部组织破坏模式。我们使用基于人群的多血管评估认知障碍和血管事件（PRECISE）研究的横断面基线数据，该研究包括 2218 名参与者，平均年龄为 61.3±6.6 岁，女性占 54.1%，包括 1205 名糖尿病前期患者、504 名糖尿病患者和 509 名正常对照组。使用图论方法研究了来自弥散张量成像数据的结构网络的富俱乐部组织和网络特性。线性混合模型用于评估富俱乐部组织破坏与受试者血糖状况之间的关联。基于图形分析方法，我们观察到从糖尿病前期到糖尿病，富俱乐部组织的破坏模式是从前额区域等外周区域到主要位于皮质下区域的富俱乐部区域。富俱乐部组织的破坏与葡萄糖水平升高有关。这些发现提供了更多关于高血糖影响大脑的过程的细节，有助于更好地理解潜在的神经后果。此外，观察到的富俱乐部组织破坏模式可能成为糖尿病前期或糖尿病患者早期检测和监测神经障碍的潜在神经影像学标志物。
