Men Faster brain aging measured in a study

The brain of men decreases more in old age
The efficiency of the brain decreases with age. However, this process seems to be progressing much faster in men than in women. In a recent study, scientists from the University of Szegedn, Hungary, found that the volume of so-called gray matter as a result of aging in men decreases significantly in numerous brain regions, whereas women only showed a significant decrease in gray matter in the area of ​​the thalamus.

Previous studies have reported several times on the "effects of sex on the mass of gray matter in various subcortical structures of the human brain," write the Hungarian scientists in the journal "Brain Imaging and Behavior." In their recent study, Nikoletta Szabó and colleagues from the University of Szeged therefore examined possible associations between "brain size, sex, age and the mass of subcortical gray matter in the human brain." The researchers found that men had a much more pronounced Degradation of cerebral substance in the course of aging have as women.

The brain of men ages faster. Image: Thomas Jansa / fotolia.com

Men show significant decline in gray matter
Using 53 healthy men and 50 healthy women of the same age, the scientists used imaging techniques (MRI) to study the mass of gray matter in each brain region and how it changes with age. "We used model-based subcortical segmentation analysis to measure the volume of subcortical nuclei," write Szabó and colleagues. First, the researchers found that in individual brain regions marked gender differences existed. For example, women on average have a larger volume of hippocampus. In addition, changes in gray matter in the caudate, putamen and thalamus areas showed a significant age-related decline in males compared to females, the researchers report. Only in the area of ​​the thalamus, women also showed a significant volume loss with increasing age.

Diminution of the brain volume as a cause of illness?
The current findings are important for the interpretation of MRI images of the brain, since immutable factors such as gender and age seem to have a significant influence on the volume of gray matter. Also, the age-related changes in the brain of men could be linked to the increased occurrence of neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson's disease, the researchers explain. The study by the Hungarian scientists shows that in terms of the brain, the biological clock of women is not ticking any faster and men here expect a much greater decline in cognitive abilities in old age. Why this is so should now clarify further studies. (Fp)