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Introduction Diabetes is linked to neurodegenerative diseases (NDs), but data in type 1 diabetes are scarce. Our aim was to assess the standardized incidence ratios (SIRs) of different NDs in type 1 diabetes, and to evaluate the impact of diabetic vascular complications and age at diabetes onset.Research design and methods In this observational cohort study, we included 4261 individuals with type 1 diabetes from the Finnish Diabetic Nephropathy study, and 11 653 matched population-based controls without diabetes. NDs were identified from registers until the end of 2017. Diabetic complications were assessed at the baseline study visit. SIRs were calculated from diabetes onset, except for impact of complications that was calculated from baseline study visit.Results The SIRs for NDs were increased in type 1 diabetes: any dementia 2.24 (95% CI 1.79 to 2.77), Alzheimer’s disease 2.13 (95% CI 1.55 to 2.87), vascular dementia 3.40 (95% CI 2.08 to 5.6), other dementias 1.70 (95% CI 1.22 to 2.31), and Parkinson’s disease 1.61 (95% CI 1.04 to 2.37). SIR showed a twofold increased incidence already in those without albuminuria (1.99 (1.44–2.68)), but further increased in presence of diabetic complications: kidney disease increased SIR for Alzheimer’s disease, while cardiovascular disease increased SIR for both Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias. Diabetes onset

Conclusions: We found smaller thalamus volume fractions in individuals with Type 1 diabetes as compared to those without diabetes, as well as reductions in brain volume fractions related to signs of cSVD in individuals with Type 1 diabetes.

IntroductionDiabetic neuropathy and diabetic eye disease are well known complications of type 1 diabetes. We hypothesized that chronic hyperglycemia also damages the optic tract, which can be measured using routine magnetic resonance imaging. Our aim was to compare morphological differences in the optic tract between individuals with type 1 diabetes and healthy control subjects. Associations between optic tract atrophy and metabolic measures, cerebrovascular and microvascular diabetic complications were further studied among individuals with type 1 diabetes.MethodsWe included 188 subjects with type 1 diabetes and 30 healthy controls, all recruited as part of the Finnish Diabetic Nephropathy Study. All participants underwent a clinical examination, biochemical work-up, and brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Two different raters manually measured the optic tract.ResultsThe coronal area of the optic chiasm was smaller among those with type 1 diabetes compared to non-diabetic controls (median area 24.7 [21.0-28.5] vs 30.0 [26.7-33.3] mm2, p

Background and purpose: Degenerative change of the corpus callosum might serve as a clinically useful surrogate marker for net pathological cerebral impact of diabetes type 1. We compared manual and automatic measurements of the corpus callosum, as well as differences in callosal cross-sectional area between subjects with type 1 diabetes and healthy controls.Materials and methods: This is a cross-sectional study on 188 neurologically asymptomatic participants with type 1 diabetes and 30 healthy age- and sex-matched control subjects, recruited as part of the Finnish Diabetic Nephropathy Study. All participants underwent clinical work-up and brain MRI. Callosal area was manually measured and callosal volume quantified with FreeSurfer. The measures were normalized using manually measured mid-sagittal intracranial area and volumetric intracranial volume, respectively.Results: Manual and automatic measurements correlated well (callosal area vs. volume: ρ = 0.83, p < 0.001 and mid-sagittal area vs. intracranial volume: ρ = 0.82, p < 0.001). We found no significant differences in the callosal measures between cases and controls. In type 1 diabetes, the lowest quartile of normalized callosal area was associated with higher insulin doses (p = 0.029) and reduced insulin sensitivity (p = 0.033). In addition, participants with more than two cerebral microbleeds had smaller callosal area (p = 0.002).Conclusion: Manually measured callosal area and automatically segmented are interchangeable. The association seen between callosal size with cerebral microbleeds and insulin resistance is indicative of small vessel disease pathology in diabetes type 1.