Khaberni - A new study has shown that men's brains may shrink faster than women's as they age.
In a study involving 4,726 cognitively healthy individuals, brain scans revealed "subtle, yet systematic, gender differences" in how neural tissue atrophies, according to the website "Science Alert".
The human brain naturally shrinks with age. Furthermore, the brains of those who die after struggling with Alzheimer's disease show significant volume loss.
Women diagnosed with Alzheimer's more frequently
Women are diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease at twice the rate of men, but surprisingly, little is known about how a person's sex affects their brain size as they age.
The study showed that the female brain loses gray and white matter at a slower rate than the male brain.
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Anne Ravnald, a neuroscientist at the University of Oslo in Norway and co-author of the study, told the journal "Nature": "If the deterioration of women's brains was greater, it would have helped explain the higher prevalence of Alzheimer's disease in them."
An international team of researchers studied more than 12,000 brain scans collected over the years from participants aged between 17 and 95 years. Each individual underwent at least two MRI scans of the brain, with an average time interval of about 3 years.
Differences in the biology of aging
After adjusting for sex differences in brain size, the researchers found that men showed deterioration in a greater number of brain regions, including several parts of the cerebral cortex, as they age.
The researchers found no difference between women and men in changes in hippocampal volume, a neural center for memory and learning - Getty
Meanwhile, women showed deterioration in fewer areas, and the thickness of their cerebral cortex changed less with age.
The study results, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, suggest real gender differences in the biology of aging, but the authors caution that the results should be interpreted carefully, as more research is needed.
Despite extensive research into brain biology with aging, there is still a strong sex bias in this field. In 2019, only 5% of studies published in neuroscience or psychiatry addressed the impact of sex.
Because of the conflicting results of studies, it is unclear whether men and women differ in the extent or speed of brain deterioration, as some studies suggest greater declines in gray and white matter in men, while other studies suggest greater declines in women.
Therefore, the new research, led by researchers at the University of Oslo in Norway, sought to clarify the picture. The researchers found sex-related differences in total brain volume, subcortical brain volume, cortical thickness, and surface area, among dozens of other measurements.
The researchers found no difference in changes in hippocampal volume, a neural center closely linked to memory, learning, and strongly associated with dementia.
