Brain Research The brain of women is metabolically younger than that of men of the same age

Are women's brains better protected against cognitive decline??

Physicians now found out from a metabolism study of the age of brains that women's brains are nearly four years younger compared to the brains of men of the same age. But what causes the brains of advanced-age women to stay younger and function even better than the brains of men of the same age??

Washington University researchers in St. Louis found that women's brains are metabolically younger than those of the same age men. The experts published the results of their study in the English-language journal "Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences" (PNAS)..

The study of men and women has shown that women's brains are years younger than those of men of the same age. (Image: denisismagilov / fotolia.com)

Women are often mentally healthier in old age

If women are metabolically years younger compared to men, this could help explain why women are often mentally fitter later in life, according to the experts. The difference observed in the examination of a stately 3.8 years is already evident in early adulthood and then extends further into old age. It has been known that all brains become smaller with age and men's brains tend to shrink faster. The study suggests that changes in the use of brain energy progress more slowly in the course of life than in men.

Brain scans of over 200 subjects were evaluated

The research team from the US investigated so-called PET brain scan images of 205 men and women aged 20 to 82 for the study. The scans measured the flow of oxygen and glucose, which the brain consumes in large quantities for energy. However, this usage pattern changes with age, explain the physicians. It's not that men's brains age faster. In men, the brain is just three years older when it enters adulthood, compared to women of the same age. This age difference of the brain will then remain throughout the rest of life, adds study author Dr. Manu Goyal from the School of Medicine at Washington University in St. Louis.

Leads a younger brain to fewer cognitive problems?

The significance of this age difference is still unknown to scientists. Women could not cognitively degrade in later life because their brains are just younger than those of the same age men. Goyal added. A study is currently being conducted to confirm the assumption. A group of adults are already under medical surveillance to determine if people with a younger brain are less likely to develop cognitive problems during their lifetime. (As)