Surface-based morphological analysis to explore the effects of type 2 diabetes on brain structure in patients with Alzheimer's disease

Motivation: Patients with Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) have an elevated risk of developing dementia, but our understanding of the neuropathology of the association between T2DM and Alzheimer's disease (AD) remains unclear. Goal(s): Surface-based morphometry was used to explore the effects of T2DM on brain structure in AD patients. Approach: Parameters such as cortical thickness were obtained using MATLAB to compare the differences between the AD+T2DM and AD-T2DM groups. Results: Compared to the AD-T2DM, patients in the AD+T2DM had reduced cortical thickness in the bilateral superiorfrontal gyrus and right supramarginal gyrus, and increased sulcus depth in the left superiorfrontal gyrus and right precentral gyrus. Impact: AD combined with T2DM results in decreased cortical thickness and increased sulcal depth in the corresponding regions, which is valuable for further understanding of T2DM-associated morphological changes in brain structures in AD patients.