High blood sugar in kids with diabetes have slower brain growth

A new study has observed that high blood sugar in kids suffering from type 1 diabetes is linked to changes in brain growth.

Washington: A new study has observed that high blood sugar in kids suffering from type 1 diabetes is linked to changes in brain growth.

The study supported by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) found that young children with type 1 diabetes (T1D) have slower brain growth compared to children without diabetes and suggested that continued exposure to hyperglycemia, or high blood sugars, may be detrimental to the developing brain.

Nelly Mauras, MD, Chief, Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism at Nemours Children's Clinic in Jacksonville, Fla., and lead author of the study , asserted that their results showed that the potential vulnerability of young developing brains to abnormally elevated glucose levels, even when the diabetes duration had been relatively brief.

The researchers found that the brains of children with diabetes showed slower overall and regional growth of gray and white matter compared to children without diabetes. These changes were associated with higher and more variable blood sugar levels. Although there were no significant differences in cognitive function between groups at 18-months, the brain imaging results suggest that the children with T1D had differences in brain maturation compared to children without diabetes. Some of the brain regions impacted are involved in visual-spatial processing, executive functions and working memory. 

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