Using transcranial Doppler techniques, we compared young diabetic patients with healthy controls by measuring cerebral blood velocity before and during carbon dioxide challenge.
Subjects with diabetes had decreased cerebral blood velocity reactivity when compared with the control group (P = 0.005).
Our results suggest cerebrovascular dysfunction in diabetic patients beginning at an early age. The possibility of long-term implications for cerebrovascular disease demonstrates the need for further studies in the pediatric and adolescent diabetic population to better understand this prevalent condition.