Short and long term neuro-behavioral alterations in type 1 diabetes mellitus pediatric population

Abstract

Type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) is one of the most prevalent chronic conditions affecting individuals under the age of 18 years, with increasing incidence worldwide, especially among very young age groups, younger than 5. There is still no cure for the disease, and therapeutic goals and guidelines are a challenge. Currently, despite T1DM intensive management and technological interventions in therapy, the majority of pediatric patients do not achieve glycemic control goals. This leads to a potential prognosis of long term diabetic complications, nephrological, cardiac, ophthalmological and neurological. Unfortunately, the neurological manifestations, including neurocognitive and behavioral complications, may present soon after disease onset, during childhood and adolescence. These manifestations may be prominent, but at times subtle, thus they are often not reported by patients or physicians as related to the diabetes. Furthermore, the metabolic mechanism for such manifestations has been inconsistent and difficult to interpret in practical clinical care, as reported in several reviews on the topic of brain and T1DM. However, new technological methods for brain assessment, as well as the introduction of continuous glucose monitoring, provide new insights and information regarding brain related manifestations and glycemic variability and control parameters, which may impact the clinical care of children and youth with T1DM. This paper provides a comprehensive review of the most recently reported behavioral, cognitive domains, sleep related, electrophysiological, and structural alterations in children and adolescences from a novel point of view. The review focuses on reported impairments based on duration of T1DM, its timeline, and modifiable disease related risk parameters. These findings are not without controversy, and limitations of data are presented in addition to recommendations for future research direction.

Keywords: Adolescences; Alterations; Behavioral; Brain; Children; Cognitive; Type 1 diabetes mellitus.

Figure 1

Short and long term behavioral and cognitive reported alterations following type 1 diabetes mellitus onset in children and adolescents according to type 1 diabetes mellitus duration. Figure is general and based on data retrieved from published reports as detailed in text.

Figure 2

Impaired cognitive domains in children and adolescents with type 1 diabetes mellitus. Mild impairments were found compared to healthy controls, but several risk factors (marked by arrows) increase potential deficits. This figure is generalized, qualitative and not quantitative, based on reported studies. T1DM: Type 1 diabetes mellitus.