A large-scale analysis of structural MRI data involving 45,900 healthy controls and 2,698 patients with a range of brain disorders revealed that the predicted brain age gap (PAD) is markedly increased in dementia, addiction, and psychiatric conditions, while developmental disorders showed no significant deviation.
Methodik
The research team calculated PAD as the difference between neuroimaging‑predicted brain age and chronological age, adjusting for age, sex, and scanning site. Effect sizes (Cohen’s d) were derived for each diagnostic group.
Dementie und kognitive Störungen
Dementia patients exhibited the strongest PAD increase (Alzheimer’s disease d = 0.97, 95 % CI [0.82, 1.13]; mild cognitive impairment d = 0.45, 95 % CI [0.34, 0.56]), followed by individuals with combined alcohol‑ and tobacco‑use disorder (d = 0.84) and those with tobacco‑only (d = 0.72) or alcohol‑only (d = 0.62) disorders.
Suchtstörungen
Psychiatric disorders showed moderate PAD elevations, with schizophrenia (d = 0.53), bipolar disorder (d = 0.46) and major depressive disorder (d = 0.28). Developmental disorders—autism spectrum disorder (d = 0.06) and attention‑deficit/hyperactivity disorder (d = 0.01)—did not differ significantly from controls.
Psychiatrische Erkrankungen
Spatial brain pattern analysis linked higher PAD values to distinct networks: frontotemporal circuitry in psychiatric disorders, a combined default‑mode, salience, putamen‑thalamus network in addiction, and fronto‑occipital regions in dementia. The prefrontal cortex was implicated across all groups.
Entwicklungsstörungen
Gene‑expression enrichment indicated that disorder‑specific brain patterns correspond to different biological processes, suggesting diverse molecular underpinnings of accelerated brain aging.
Molekulare und netzwerkbezogene Befunde
The authors note that comorbidity between psychiatric disorders and addiction was not accounted for, representing a limitation that may influence the observed effect sizes.
Einschränkungen und Ausblick
The study concludes that disorder‑specific brain‑aging signatures could serve as neuroimaging biomarkers, potentially informing clinical decisions pending validation in future research.
Dieser Bericht basiert auf Informationen von PLOS Medicine, lizenziert unter Creative Commons BY 4.0 (Open Access). Wissenschaftliche Inhalte, offen zugänglich.
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