BRAIN METABOLISM AFTER RECURRENT INSULIN-INDUCED HYPOGLYCEMIC EPISODES - A PET STUDY

Neuropsychological testing was carried out and the rate of oxygen meta bolism in the brain was measured by PET in 15 highly selected patients with type 1 diabetes. The aim was to investigate the impact on the br ain of hypoglycaemic comas resulting from insulin treatment. No signif icant difference was found between nine patients with a history of mor e than 10 hypoglycaemic comas and six others who denied any history of such events. These data suggest that intensified insulin treatment, a lthough increasing the frequency of hypoglycaemic coma, may not always be harmful for the brain. This may be explained by the limited durati on of hypoglycaemic coma induced by conventional insulin treatment.