Patients with Type-2 Diabetes Mellitus (T2DM) have a considerably higher risk of developing mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and dementia. The initial symptoms are very insidious at onset. We investigated the alterations in spontaneous brain activity and network connectivity through regional homogeneity (ReHo) and graph theoretical network analyses, respectively, of resting-state functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (rs-fMRI) in T2DM patients with and without MCI, so as to facilitate early diagnose. Twenty-five T2DM patients with MCI (DM-MCI), 25 T2DM patients with normal cognition (DM-NC), 27 healthy controls were enrolled. Whole-brain ReHo values were calculated and topological properties of functional networks were analyzed. The DM-MCI group exhibited decreased ReHo in the left inferior/middle occipital gyrus and right inferior temporal gyrus, and increased ReHo in frontal gyrus compared to the DM-NCs. Significant correlations were found between ReHo values and clinical measurements. The DM-MCI group illustrated greater clustering coefficient/local efficiency and altered nodal characteristics (efficiency, degree and betweenness), which increased in certain occipital, temporal and parietal regions but decreased in the right inferior temporal gyrus, compared to the DM-NCs. The altered ReHo and impaired network organization may underlie the impaired cognitive functions in T2DM and suggesting a compensation mechanism. These rs-fMRI measures have the potential as biomarkers of disease progression in diabetic encephalopathy.

Background and purpose: Whether the direct aspiration approach of thrombectomy for recanalization in patients with acute ischemic stroke has a similar efficacy and safety compared to the stent-retriever remains uncertain. Methods: We conducted a meta-analysis of 9 studies obtained through PubMed and Embase database searches to determine whether successful recanalization rate, good functional outcome at 3 months (modified Rankin score, mRS≤2), procedure time from groin puncture to maximal revascularization and procedure-related adverse events differed between patients who underwent the direct aspiration and those receiving stent-retriever for recanalization in acute cerebral infarction. Results: There was no significant difference between the direct aspiration group and the stent-retriever group in rate of successful recanalization (summary odds ratio [OR], 0.86 [95% confidence interval (CI), 0.45–1.52]; P = .60), but a better functional outcomes in the direct aspiration group at 3 months defined as a mRS score of 0 to 2 (OR, 0.77; 95% CI, 0.66–0.97; P = .03). Furthermore, the direct aspiration patients compared with the stent-retriever patients had a tendency of shorter procedural time (Mean difference [MD], -8.77 [95% CI, from-18.90 to 1.37]; P = .09). Finally, there were less adverse events especially in symptomatic intracerebral hemorrhage (sICH) (OR, 0.56; 95% CI, 0.33–0.98; P = .04) and embolization to a new territory (ENT) (OR, 0.49; 95% CI, 0.28–0.84; P = .01) in the direct aspiration group when compared with the stent-retriever group, although no difference between them in the rate of any ICH (OR, 0.81; 95% CI, 0.41–1.60; P = .54). Conclusions: The results support that the direct aspiration technique for those acute ischemic stroke patients may have better functional outcomes, less procedure related-adverse events and a tendency of faster revascularization time as compared to the stent-retriever thrombectomy, with a similar successful recanalization rate. However, major limitations of current evidence (mainly from retrospective and observational studies and a small number of patients population) indicate a need for adequately powered, multicenter randomized controlled trials (RCT) to answer this question.