Study Reveals How 9 Disorders Accelerate Brain Aging
- Brain scans show that a range of common mental health conditions, substance use disorders, and neurodegenerative diseases can make the human brain appear physically older than a person's...
- Researchers examined scans from 45,900 healthy individuals and 2,698 patients across nine distinct conditions to measure the structural wear on brain tissue.
- The study found that Alzheimer disease caused the largest aging effect among all groups examined by the researchers.
Brain scans show that a range of common mental health conditions, substance use disorders, and neurodegenerative diseases can make the human brain appear physically older than a person’s chronological age. A study published in the journal PLOS Medicine analyzed brain magnetic resonance imaging scans to evaluate how different disorders impact gray matter preservation and brain aging, BioBioChile reported.
Researchers examined scans from 45,900 healthy individuals and 2,698 patients across nine distinct conditions to measure the structural wear on brain tissue. By comparing estimated brain age against actual chronological age, the study identified accelerated brain aging in the majority of the evaluated disorders. The most significant structural discrepancies appeared in neurodegenerative conditions and substance use disorders rather than early-onset neurodevelopmental conditions.
Alzheimer Disease Shows the Largest Structural Age Gap
The study found that Alzheimer disease caused the largest aging effect among all groups examined by the researchers. Mild cognitive impairment, which often precedes Alzheimer disease by presenting as memory or attention losses greater than normal aging, followed closely behind in structural impact.
Substance use disorders also ranked high in accelerated brain aging, with the most pronounced differences appearing in individuals who suffered from both alcohol and tobacco use disorders simultaneously. Separate categories for problematic tobacco use and problematic alcohol use also showed measurable gaps between estimated brain age and actual age.
Psychiatric Disorders Alter Frontal and Temporal Regions
Psychiatric conditions also demonstrated measurable aging effects on specific brain structures, though their impact varied compared to neurodegenerative diseases. Schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and major depression all showed accelerated brain aging, with major depression displaying the smallest effect among the psychiatric group.
Magnetic resonance imaging revealed that structural changes in psychiatric disorders clustered primarily around the frontal and temporal zones located behind the forehead and at the sides of the head. Substance use disorders engaged deeper structures such as the putamen and thalamus, while dementias affected frontal and occipital regions.
Autism Spectrum Disorder and ADHD Show No Accelerated Aging
Not all conditions analyzed in the PLOS Medicine study were linked to older-appearing brain structures. The research team found no structural differences in patients with autism spectrum disorder or attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, both of which emerge during childhood and did not associate with an older brain.
Despite the regional variations across the remaining conditions, one specific area appeared affected in all of them: the corteza prefrontal. This frontal region is tied to decision-making, planning, and impulse control.
El envejecimiento cerebral acelerado es un resultado común de muchos trastornos, y la corteza prefrontal podría ser la base de importantes procesos neuronales con respecto a la universalidad de este envejecimiento cerebral acelerado
Authors of the PLOS Medicine study
The research team intends to test the identified brain patterns to determine if they can serve as reliable biomarkers to guide medical decisions. A biomarcador functions as a measurable signal that helps detect or monitor a disease over time.
en el futuro, los patrones cerebrales que hemos identificado para cada trastorno podrían someterse a pruebas para determinar su utilidad como biomarcadores que guíen la toma de decisiones clínicas cruciales
Study investigators