[Source:  Medical News Today]

Investigators have found that young children with type 1 diabetes (T1D) have slower brain growth compared to children without diabetes. A new study, published in Diabetes, now available ahead of print, suggests that continued exposure to hyperglycemia, or high blood sugars, may be detrimental to the developing brain. The research was supported by the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

“Our results show the potential vulnerability of young developing brains to abnormally elevated glucose levels, even when the diabetes duration has been relatively brief,” said Nelly Mauras, MD, Chief, Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes & Metabolism at Nemours Children’s Clinic in Jacksonville, Fla., and lead author of the study.

Mauras and colleagues across the Diabetes Research in Children Network (DirecNet) of five clinical pediatric diabetes centers and a coordinating center, studied brain development in children ages four to nine years old with T1D using structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and cognitive tests to determine if abnormal blood glucose levels impact brain structure and function at a young age. Children with T1D also underwent blood sugar monitoring using continuous glucose sensors.

Read the Rest of this Article on Medical News Today