Rationale and Objectives
To assess differences in excitatory (glutamate/glutamine or Glx) and inhibitory (γ-Aminobutyric
acid or GABA) neurotransmitter levels using MR spectroscopy in pain processing regions
of the brain in patients diabetic neuropathy (DN) and positive sensory symptoms and
age-matched healthy control (HC) subjects.
Materials and Methods
Seven diabetic patients (5 males, 2 females, mean age = 57.0 ± 8.5 years) with confirmed
DN and positive sensory symptoms and 7 age and sex matched HC subjects (mean age =
57.7 ± 3.2 years) underwent 3 Tesla MR spectroscopy. Glx and GABA levels were quantified
in the right anterior and posterior insula, anterior cingulate cortex and right thalamus.
Results
Mean Glx levels were significantly higher and mean GABA levels were significantly
lower within the posterior insula in the DN patients compared to HC (P = 0.005 and 0.012 respectively).
Conclusions
This pilot data demonstrates an excitatory/inhibitory neurotransmitter imbalance in
the brain of in patients with DN and positive sensory symptoms compared to pain free
HC subjects.
Key Words
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Article Info
Publication History
Accepted:
February 23,
2012
Received:
December 20,
2011
Footnotes
Supported by the Program in Neurology Research and Discovery at the University of Michigan, the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF) and the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA).
M.P. researched data, contributed to discussion, wrote the manuscript, and reviewed and edited the manuscript. R.P.B. and B.R.F. researched data, contributed to discussion and reviewed and edited the manuscript. R.A.E.E., B.C.C., S.E.H., R.E.H., D.J.C., and E.L.F. contributed to the discussion and reviewed and edited the manuscript.
No conflicts of interest relevant to this article were reported.
Identification
Copyright
© 2012 AUR. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
