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• Clinical Articles •
MPRAGE combined with rs-fMRI in the study of brain damage in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus and prediabetes
FEI Xue  LIU Xiaochen 

Cite this article as: FEI X, LIU X C. MPRAGE combined with rs-fMRI in the study of brain damage in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus and prediabetes[J]. Chin J Magn Reson Imaging, 2026, 17(3): 8-14. DOI:10.12015/issn.1674-8034.2026.03.002.


[Abstract] Objective This study combined magnetization prepared rapid gradient echo (MPRAGE) with resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI) to investigate the differences in resting-state gray matter volume and functional connectivity (FC) between patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and prediabetes mellitus (PreDM), as well as the correlation between statistically significant brain region imaging markers and neuropsychological scale scores.Materials and Methods From July 2023 to December 2024,32 T2DM patients, 13 PreDM patients, and 30 individuals with normal glucose tolerance (NGT) were enrolled from the First Affiliated Hospital of Xinjiang Medical University. The gray matter volume differences among the three groups were analyzed, and brain regions with statistically significant gray matter volume differences were selected as seed points for FC analysis. The correlation between statistically significant brain regions in PreDM and T2DM patients and neuropsychological scale scores was also examined.Results (1) Gray matter volume [GRF (Gaussian random field correction), voxel level P < 0.001, cluster level P < 0.05]. Compared with the NGT group, the T2DM group showed reduced gray matter volume in the left middle temporal gyrus and left medial suprachiasmatic gyrus, while the PreDM group exhibited reduced gray matter volume in the left inferior frontal gyrus. Compared with PreDM, the T2DM group showed increased gray matter volume in the left inferior frontal gyrus. (2) FC (GRF, voxel level P < 0.01, cluster level P < 0.05). For the left middle temporal gyrus as the seed point, the FC analysis revealed statistically significant differences among the three groups in the right cerebellar area 6, right suboccipital gyrus, left middle frontal gyrus, left parietal gyrus, and left central anterior gyrus. Compared with the NGT group and PreDM group, the T2DM group showed increased FC values in these regions. Compared with the NGT group, the PreDM group exhibited decreased FC values in the right suboccipital gyrus. For the left medial suprachiasmatic gyrus as the seed point, the FC analysis revealed statistically significant differences among the three groups in the right precuneus and bilateral angular gyrus. Compared with the NGT group, the T2DM group showed increased FC values in the right precuneus. Compared with the PreDM group, the T2DM group exhibited increased FC values in both the right precuneus and bilateral angular gyrus. Compared with the NGT group, the PreDM group showed significantly decreased FC values in the bilateral angular gyrus. (3) Correlation analysis. The functional connectivity (FC) values between the left middle temporal gyrus and right suboccipital gyrus in the T2DM group showed a negative correlation with Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) scores (r = -0.393, P = 0.032).Conclusions This study revealed alterations in gray matter volume and FC values in specific brain regions among pre-diabetic (PreDM) and T2DM patients. Additionally, correlations were observed between FC values in certain brain regions and MoCA scores. T2DM patients may exhibit compensatory mechanisms, including increased FC values and reduced brain volume, as well as neurocompensatory mechanisms. These findings provide neuroimaging evidence for the early identification and intervention of cognitive impairment in diabetic patients.
[Keywords] type 2 diabetes mellitus；prediabetes mellitus；magnetic resonance imaging；gray matter volume；functional connectivity

FEI Xue   LIU Xiaochen*  

Imaging Center, First Affiliated Hospital of Xinjiang Medical University, Urumqi 830054, China

Corresponding author: LIU X C, E-mail: 271979424@qq.com

Conflicts of interest   None.

Received  2025-08-26
Accepted  2026-02-10
DOI: 10.12015/issn.1674-8034.2026.03.002
Cite this article as: FEI X, LIU X C. MPRAGE combined with rs-fMRI in the study of brain damage in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus and prediabetes[J]. Chin J Magn Reson Imaging, 2026, 17(3): 8-14. DOI:10.12015/issn.1674-8034.2026.03.002.

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