Assessment of cerebral blood flow in diabetic patients with no clinical history of neurological disease.

We assessed cerebral blood flow in 78 diabetic patients (40 Type 1 and 38 Type 2) with no previous history of central nervous system disease using 99Tcm-hexamethylpropylene amine oxime (99Tcm-HMPAO) single photon emission tomography (SPET) and found areas of severe hypoperfusion in 36% of them. All cerebral anatomical regions showed abnormalities related to hypoperfusion, but they were most frequently seen in the fronto-temporal region, followed by the occipital and parietal regions. 99Tcm-HMPAO SPET has been shown to be able to detect subclinical alterations in blood flow in diabetes, a finding that may account for the high prevalence of cerebrovascular disease seen in these patients. This technique could, therefore, play an important role in future preventative strategies.