Age-related decline in blood-brain barrier function is more pronounced in males than females in parietal and temporal regions.

Xingfeng Shao, Qinyang Shou, Kimberly Felix, Brandon Ojogho, Xuejuan Jiang, Brian T Gold, Megan M Herting, Eric L Goldwaser, Peter Kochunov, Elliot Hong, Ioannis Pappas, Meredith Braskie, Hosung Kim, Steven Cen, Kay Jann, Danny J J Wang

USC Stevens Neuroimaging and Informatics Institute, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, United States.USC Stevens Neuroimaging and Informatics Institute, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, United States. · pubmed

Paper

Abstract

The blood-brain barrier (BBB) plays a pivotal role in protecting the central nervous system (CNS), and shielding it from potential harmful entities. A natural decline of BBB function with aging has been reported in both animal and human studies, which may contribute to cognitive decline and neurodegenerative disorders. Limited data also suggest that being female may be associated with protective effects on BBB function. Here, we investigated age and sex-dependent trajectories of perfusion and BBB water exchange rate (kw) across the lifespan in 186 cognitively normal participants spanning the ages of 8-92 years old, using a non-invasive diffusion-prepared pseudo-continuous arterial spin labeling (DP-pCASL) MRI technique. We found that the pattern of BBB kw decline with aging varies across brain regions. Moreover, results from our DP-pCASL technique revealed a remarkable decline in BBB kw beginning in the early 60 s, which was more pronounced in males. In addition, we observed sex differences in parietal and temporal regions. Our findings provide in vivo results demonstrating sex differences in the decline of BBB function with aging, which may serve as a foundation for future investigations into perfusion and BBB function in neurodegenerative and other brain disorders.

The following analysis is generated by AI and may contain errors. It is separate from the authors’ abstract and is not peer review.

Research summary

The paper investigates the decline of blood-brain barrier (BBB) function with aging and highlights sex differences in this decline, which is relevant to understanding age-related changes in the central nervous system. While it provides solid research on a specific aspect of aging, it does not address root causes of aging or propose interventions for lifespan extension. Therefore, its impact is solid but limited.

Author of this paper? Send a correction.