Human Cerebral Neuropathology of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus

Authors

Peter T. Nelson, University of KentuckyFollow
Charles D. Smith, University of KentuckyFollow
Erin L. Abner, University of KentuckyFollow
Frederick A. Schmitt, University of KentuckyFollow
Stephen W. Scheff, University of KentuckyFollow
Gregory J. Davis, University of KentuckyFollow
Jeffrey N. Keller, University of Kentucky
Gregory A. Jicha, University of KentuckyFollow
Daron Davis, University of Kentucky
Wang-Xia Wang, University of KentuckyFollow
Adria Hartman, University of Kentucky
Douglas G. Katz, University of KentuckyFollow
William R. Markesbery, University of KentuckyFollow

Abstract

The cerebral neuropathology of Type 2 diabetes (CNDM2) has not been positively defined. This review includes a description of CNDM2 research from before the ‘Pubmed Era’. Recent neuroimaging studies have focused on cerebrovascular and white matter pathology. These and prior studies about cerebrovascular histopathology in diabetes are reviewed. Evidence is also described for and against the link between CNDM2 and Alzheimer's disease pathogenesis. To study this matter directly, we evaluated data from University of Kentucky Alzheimer's Disease Center (UK ADC) patients recruited while non-demented and followed longitudinally. Of patients who had come to autopsy (N = 234), 139 met inclusion criteria. These patients provided the basis for comparing the prevalence of pathological and clinical indices between well-characterized cases with (N = 50) or without (N = 89) the premortem diagnosis of diabetes. In diabetics, cerebrovascular pathology was more frequent and Alzheimer-type pathology was less frequent than in non-diabetics. Finally, a series of photomicrographs demonstrates histopathological features (including clinical–radiographical correlation) observed in brains of persons that died after a history of diabetes. These preliminary, correlative, and descriptive studies may help develop new hypotheses about CNDM2. We conclude that more work should be performed on human material in the context of CNDM2.

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

5-2009

Notes/Citation Information

Published in Biochimica et Biophysica Acta -- Molecular Basis of Disease, v. 1792, issue 5, p. 454-469.

Copyright © 2008 Published by Elsevier B.V.

This manuscript version is made available under the CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 license http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/.

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bbadis.2008.08.005

Funding Information

This study was supported by grants 5-P30-AG028383 and K08 NS050110 from the National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, and a grant from the Healy Family Foundation.

Repository Citation

Nelson, Peter T.; Smith, Charles D.; Abner, Erin L.; Schmitt, Frederick A.; Scheff, Stephen W.; Davis, Gregory J.; Keller, Jeffrey N.; Jicha, Gregory A.; Davis, Daron; Wang, Wang-Xia; Hartman, Adria; Katz, Douglas G.; and Markesbery, William R., "Human Cerebral Neuropathology of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus" (2009). Pathology and Laboratory Medicine Faculty Publications. 26.
https://uknowledge.uky.edu/pathology_facpub/26