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Low BDNF is associated with cognitive deficits in patients with type 2 diabetes

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Abstract

Objective

Studies suggest that brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) plays an essential role in regulating memory-related neuroplasticity in the hippocampus. Type 2 diabetes (T2DM) is associated with impairment in many domains of cognitive function which may result from reduced BDNF; however, the correlation of BDNF with cognitive impairment in T2DM has not been investigated.

Materials and methods

We compared 208 patients with T2DM to 212 normal controls on serum BDNF and the Repeatable Battery for the Assessment of Neuropsychological Status (RBANS).

Results

Serum BDNF levels were significantly decreased in T2DM patients compared to normal controls (p < 0.001). The total score and nearly all indexes (all p < 0.01) except for attention and visuospatial/constructional indexes (all p > 0.05) of RBANS were markedly lower in T2DM than controls. There was a positive relationship between serum BDNF and delayed memory in patients with T2DM.

Conclusion

Our results suggest that BDNF may play a role in the pathophysiology of cognitive deficits, especially delayed memory in T2DM.

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Acknowledgments

Funding for this study was provided by grants from the Stanley Medical Research Institute (03 T-459 and 05 T-726) and the Department of Veterans Affairs, VISN 16, Mental Illness Research, Education and Clinical Center (MIRECC), United States National Institute of Health K05-DA0454, P50-DA18827, and U01-MH79639. These sources had no further role in study design; in the collection, analysis and interpretation of data; in the writing of the report; and in the decision to submit the paper for publication.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Internal Medicine, Hebei Medical University, Shijiazhuang, 050017, People’s Republic of China

    Yan Feng Zhen, Jia Zhang, Hui Fang & Luo Bing Tian

  2. Department of Neurosurgery, Tangshan Gongren Hospital, Hebei Medical University, Tangshan, 063000, People’s Republic of China

    Xing Yu Liu

  3. Department of Endocrinology, Tangshan Gongren Hospital, Hebei Medical University, Tangshan, 063000, People’s Republic of China

    Hui Fang

  4. Department of Endocrinology, Linyi People’s Hospital, Linyi, 276002, People’s Republic of China

    Dong Hao Zhou

  5. Psychiatry Research Center, Beijing HuiLongGuan hospital, Peking University, Beijing, People’s Republic of China

    Xiang Yang Zhang

  6. Menninger Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Michael E. DeBakey VA Medical Center, Research Building 109, Room 130, 2002 Holcombe Boulevard, Houston, TX, 77030, USA

    Thomas R Kosten & Xiang Yang Zhang

  7. Menninger Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, 77030, USA

    Thomas R Kosten & Xiang Yang Zhang

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  1. Yan Feng Zhen
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  2. Jia Zhang
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  3. Xing Yu Liu
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  4. Hui Fang
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  7. Thomas R Kosten
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  8. Xiang Yang Zhang
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Correspondence to Hui Fang or Xiang Yang Zhang.

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Zhen, Y.F., Zhang, J., Liu, X.Y. et al. Low BDNF is associated with cognitive deficits in patients with type 2 diabetes. Psychopharmacology 227, 93–100 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00213-012-2942-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00213-012-2942-3

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