Assessing Heart and Brain Metabolism in Type II Diabetes Mellitus Patients Using Carbon-13 MRI

There has been a notable increase in the number of Canadians living with type II diabetes. People with this type of diabetes often have high levels of a substance called lactate in their blood, which might be linked to problems with thinking and heart failure. A new imaging technique has been developed that can help us see how lactate is being processed in the body. This involves using MRI technology to rapidly look at chemical reactions happening inside cells. This new method uses a special contrast agent that's injected into the body, which produces a much stronger magnetic signal, making it easier to see what's happening inside. In this study, we will use this new imaging method with a substance called carbon-13 pyruvate to monitor how it changes in the brain and heart of people with type II diabetes. We will also see how these changes relate to their treatment with a medication called semaglutide. This new MRI method has been used to study cancer, the brain and heart in human participants, but not in T2DM patients. The data we collect might help doctors improve the treatment of patients with T2DM, heart failure, dementia, and cognitive problems in the future. Health Canada has not approved the use of 13C-enriched pyruvate for use or sale for any condition, although they have allowed its use in this research study.