Martin Schain (Director PET Imaging at Antaros Medical) will be presenting the first results from a study investigating the presence of metabolic alterations in the brain in people who are insulin resistant using Positron Emission Tomography (PET)/ Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI). The study was conducted as a collaboration between Uppsala University, University of Gothenburg, Turku PET Centre, AstraZeneca, and Antaros Medical.
The oral presentation: ‘Decreased cerebral glucose and increased cerebral fatty acid utilisation during fasting in type 2 diabetes’ will be given by Martin today at EASD 2023 as part of the session called Diabetes and the brain.
This imaging method study was developed to assess whether insulin resistance is accompanied by altered glucose and fatty acid utilisation in the brain as a potential underlying mechanism for the observed link between type 2 diabetes (T2D) and neurodegenerative disorders. It has been shown that patients with T2D have a 60% greater risk of developing dementia, but the mechanisms underpinning this link are largely unknown. Identifying biomarkers that can be used to help understand the connections between T2D and cognitive dysfunction could be useful for assessing how T2D treatments affect the brain.
To do this, a variety of brain imaging methods were used in lean, physically active controls; obese patients without a clinical diagnosis of T2D; and T2D patients. The methods included PET imaging with [18F]-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) and [18F]-fluoro-6-thia-heptadecanoic acid (FTHA) (radiotracers to look at glucose and fatty acid utilisation, respectively), arterial spin-labelling MRI (to investigate brain perfusion), and MR spectroscopy (MRS) to measure brain metabolites (N-acetyl aspartate, choline, myo-inositol) Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) samples were also taken to measure several markers of neurodegeneration.
More new diabetes science is being presented at EASD today by our collaborators. Data from a study investigating the efficacy of a functionally selective insulin will be presented in an oral presentation by Tim Heise (Profil).
This study was performed as a collaboration between Profil, The Institute of Aerospace Medicine, Novo Nordisk, and Antaros Medical, and in addition to measures of glycaemic control and insulin sensitivity, looked at liver fat fraction (measured by magnetic resonance imaging proton-density fat fraction; MRI-PDFF).
You can find the abstract details for both presentations below.
Title: Decreased cerebral glucose and increased cerebral fatty acid utilisation during fasting in type 2 diabetes
Abstract number: 68
Authors: Schain M, Johansson E, Laitinen I, Frödén Löwenmark A, Lubberink M, Gummesson A, Nuutila P, Esterline R, Oscarsson J, Johansson L, Heurling K
Session: OP 12 – Diabetes and the brain
Oral presentation Tuesday, October 3 15:30-15:45 CEST
Title: Efficacy and safety of a functionally selective insulin: a 26-week randomised, double blind trial versus insulin glargine in people with type 2 diabetes (T2D)
Abstract number: 11
Authors: Heise T, Haraldsson H, Herbrand T, Johansson L, Jordan J, Nishimura E, Plum-Mörschel L, Tank J, Thórisdóttir Ó, Lyby K
Session: OP 2 – Present, future and future future of insulin therapy
Oral presentation Tuesday, October 3 11:30-11:45 CEST