Premium
Sex dimorphism in gray/white matter volume and diffusion tensor during normal aging
Author(s) -
Abe Osamu,
Yamasue Hidenori,
Yamada Haruyasu,
Masutani Yoshitaka,
Kabasawa Hiroyuki,
Sasaki Hiroki,
Takei Kunio,
Suga Motomu,
Kasai Kiyoto,
Aoki Shigeki,
Ohtomo Kuni
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
nmr in biomedicine
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.278
H-Index - 114
eISSN - 1099-1492
pISSN - 0952-3480
DOI - 10.1002/nbm.1479
Subject(s) - white matter , sexual dimorphism , fractional anisotropy , diffusion mri , gray (unit) , voxel , psychology , anatomy , medicine , biology , magnetic resonance imaging , nuclear medicine , radiology
The purpose of this study is to elucidate sex differences in global and regional gray/white matter volume, mean diffusivity (MD), and fractional anisotropy (FA) during normal aging using voxel‐based analysis. We studied 245 healthy right‐handed subjects with a wide range of ages (115 women, 22–70 years; 130 men, 21–71 years). Regarding global effects, inclusion of a quadratic age term improved the fit to data for white matter fraction and MD, but not for global gray matter volume/fraction or FA. Regarding regional effects, we found anterior‐dominant volume loss, FA decrease predominantly in the anterior white matter, and MD increase predominantly in perisylvian regions and periventricular white matter against age for both sexes. Compared with women, we found a steeper FA decline for men in the right inferior fronto‐temporal areas, extending to the anterior cingulate cortex, and an accelerated MD increase for men in the bilateral frontal, temporal, and parietal areas. There was no area in which interaction of sex with age was significant for regional volume, or in which a steeper FA decline or accelerated MD increase for women was significant. Our results provide strong evidence of sex dimorphism in global and focal diffusion characteristics during normal aging. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.