Thalamic volumetric abnormalities in type 1 diabetes mellitus and `peripheral' neuropathy

Autores da FMUP

• Davide Maurício Costa Carvalho

  Autor

• António José De Bastos Leite

  Autor

Participantes de fora da FMUP

• Novo, Joao L.
• Ruas, Jose J.
• Ferreira, Leonardo M.
• Barbosa, Margarida
• Brandao, Sofia

Unidades de investigação

• Laboratório Associado RISE- Rede de Investigação em Saúde

  

  Investigador

  Fernando Carlos De Landér Schmitt

• Medicina

• RISE-Health

  

  Investigador

  Fernando Carlos De Landér Schmitt

Abstract

We hypothesized that thalamic volumes of patients with type 1 diabetes mellitus (DM) and nonpainful diabetic peripheral neuropathy (DPN) would be reduced relative to thalamic volumes of patients with type 1 DM and painful DPN. We calculated the standardized thalamic volumetric difference between these groups in a pilot sample to obtain a statistical power of 80% at a 5% significance level. Hence, we measured thalamic volumes from 15 patients with nonpainful DPN (10 women, mean age = 49 years, standard deviation [SD] = 11.5) and from 13 patients with painful DPN (8 women, mean age = 43 years, SD = 12.5) by using a manual segmentation approach. A volumetric difference of approximately 15% was found between the nonpainful (mean = 5072 mm(3), SD = 528.1) and painful (mean = 5976 mm(3), SD = 643.1) DPN groups (P < 0.001). Curiously, a volumetric difference between the left (mean = 5198 mm(3), SD = 495.0) and the right (mean = 4946 mm(3), SD = 590.6) thalamus was also found in patients with nonpainful DPN (P < 0.01), but not in patients with painful DPN (P = 0.97). Patients with nonpainful DPN have lower thalamic volumes than those with painful DPN, especially in the right thalamus.

© 2022. The Author(s).

Keywords

• ALZHEIMERS-DISEASE; HEMISPHERIC LATERALIZATION; PAIN; SEGMENTATION; ATROPHY; BRAIN; MRI; REPRODUCIBILITY; PERFORMANCE; VALIDATION