Brain structural variability due to aging and gender in cognitively healthy Elders: results from the Sao Paulo Ageing and Health study.
OBJECTIVE
Several morphometric MR imaging studies have investigated age- and sex-related cerebral volume changes in healthy human brains, most often by using samples spanning several decades of life and linear correlation methods. This study aimed to map the normal pattern of regional age-related volumetric reductions specifically in the elderly population.


METHODS
One hundred thirty-two eligible individuals (67-75 years of age) were selected from a community-based sample recruited for the São Paulo Ageing and Health (SPAH) study, and a cross-sectional MR imaging investigation was performed concurrently with the second SPAH wave. We used voxel-based morphometry (VBM) to conduct a voxelwise search for significant linear correlations between gray matter (GM) volumes and age. In addition, region-of-interest masks were used to investigate whether the relationship between regional GM (rGM) volumes and age would be best predicted by a nonlinear model.


RESULTS
VBM and region-of-interest analyses revealed selective foci of accelerated rGM loss exclusively in men, involving the temporal neocortex, prefrontal cortex, and medial temporal region. The only structure in which GM volumetric changes were best predicted by a nonlinear model was the left parahippocampal gyrus.


CONCLUSIONS
The variable patterns of age-related GM loss across separate neocortical and temporolimbic regions highlight the complexity of degenerative processes that affect the healthy human brain across the life span. The detection of age-related limbic GM decrease in men supports the view that atrophy in such regions should be seen as compatible with normal aging.
Curiati
P K
PK
Psychiatry Department, Sao Paulo University Medical School, Sao Paulo Brazil.
Tamashiro
J H
JH
Squarzoni
P
P
Duran
F L S
FL
Santos
L C
LC
Wajngarten
M
M
Leite
C C
CC
Vallada
H
H
Menezes
P R
PR
Scazufca
M
M
Busatto
G F
GF
Alves
T C T F
TC
D000368:Aged; D000375:Aging / Q000473:pathology*; D001284:Atrophy; D001921:Brain / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000473:pathology*; D001931:Brain Mapping / Q000379:methods* / Q000592:standards; D001938:Brazil; D003071:Cognition; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000592:standards / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D008297:Male; D017711:Nonlinear Dynamics; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D012016:Reference Values; D012044:Regression Analysis; D012727:Sex Characteristics