Type 2 diabetes mellitus and the clinical course of acute stroke

We carried out a comparative analysis of the clinical course of acute stroke in patients with and without type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). The prevalence of carotid atherosclerosis (incl. those with plaques and hemodynamically significant [≥60%] carotid stenosis) was higher in patients with T2DM. With relatively similar baseline brain damage and neurological deficits patients with T2DM had a higher rate of symptom worsening, which leads to poorer outcome. A less favourable post-stroke prognosis was found to be associated with the presence of T2DM, but not with transient changes in glycemic levels. Most patients with T2DM presented with acute stroke showing elevated levels of both plasma glucose and glycated haemoglobin, the latter indicating a long period of hyperglycemia preceding the acute cerebrovascular event.