MRI scans ‘can identify stroke/heart attack risk in diabetics’

A new study has highlighted the potential of whole-body magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) technology as a means of assessing the risk of heart attack and stroke in diabetic patients.

Led by researchers at the Ludwig-Maximilians University, the team studied the predictive value of whole-body MRI for the occurrence of major adverse cardiac and cerebrovascular events (MACCE) in 65 patients with diabetes.

It was found that patients who had detectable vascular changes in the scans faced a cumulative MACCE risk rate of 20 percent at three years and 35 percent at six years, while none of the patients with a normal whole-body MRI went on to experience these symptoms.

This suggests that whole-body MRI could be an accurate prognostic tool for diabetic patients that could facilitate access to effective treatments for those at risk.

Dr Fabian Bamberg of the department of radiology at Ludwig-Maximilians University, said: "We anticipate that emerging study findings in different diabetic cohorts will provide additional scientific basis to establish whole-body MRI as a screening modality."

In the UK, the disease affects approximately 2.9 million people, while there are also thought to be around 850,000 people with undiagnosed diabetes.