Researchers at Karolinska Institutet have used an AI tool to estimate the biological age of brains from MRI scans of 70-year-olds. Their analysis revealed that factors harmful to vascular health, such as inflammation and high blood sugar levels, are linked to older-looking brains, while a healthy lifestyle was associated with younger-looking brains. These findings were published today (December 20) in Alzheimer’s & Dementia: The Journal of the Alzheimer’s Association.

In Sweden, more than 20,000 people are diagnosed with dementia every year, with Alzheimer’s disease making up about two-thirds of cases. However, the rate of brain aging can be influenced by various health and lifestyle factors. Despite the recent introduction of new Alzheimer’s drugs, they will not work for everyone with dementia, so we want to study what can boost the brain’s resilience against pathological aging processes, explains Anna Marseglia, lead author of the study and researcher at the Department of Neurobiology, Care Sciences and Society, Karolinska Institutet.

The study involved 739 cognitively healthy 70-year-olds, 389 of whom were female, recruited from Gothenburg’s H70 cohort in Sweden. The researchers took MRI scans of their brains and then estimated the age of the resulting brain images using their own AI-based algorithm. The algorithm is both accurate and robust, yet easy to use, says principal investigator Eric Westman, professor of Neurogeriatrics at the same department. It’s a research tool that still needs further evaluation, but our aim is for it also to be of clinical use in the future, such as in dementia investigations.

The brain images were complemented with blood samples for measuring lipids, glucose, and inflammation. The participants also carried out cognitive testing. Data on lifestyle factors such as exercise and medical conditions were also available. The researchers found that diabetes, stroke, cerebral small vessel disease, and inflammation were linked to brains with an older appearance, whereas a healthy lifestyle involving regular exercise could be linked to brains of a younger appearance.

Source: https://scitechdaily.com/new-ai-discovery-the-hidden-factors-behind-faster-brain-aging/