Connecting Brain and Body Aging

As the years pass, you may have started to notice changes in yourself, and it’s not just in your outward

appearance. You might have more health issues, go to your doctor for more testing for diseases and

conditions that wouldn’t have been a major concern in the past, and you may not feel as sharp as you

used to be when you were younger. Your organs are also aging and losing function they once had before.

Thanks to the AIM Medical Imaging patients who consented to research participation, Dr. Cyrus A. Raji

and Dr. Raj Attariwala analyzed over 7000 Whole-Body MRI scans to investigate the link between age,

body organs and the brain, and how the risk for developing certain health conditions—especially

Alzheimer’s disease—increases as you age.

What does the research say about aging and your organs?

Analyses for organ, fat and muscle segmentation were performed on 7,149 whole-body MRIs

from patients ranging from age 18 to 97, and 96 brain regions were segmented from the scans

of 134 participants using deep learning. These results were then quantified and compared.

The research found that, as age increases, the gray and white matter volumes of the brain

decreased. While cerebral ventricle volume increased, the volumes of the brain lobes and

Alzheimer’s disease risk regions—the hippocampus, posterior cingulate and precuneus—were

reduced. In addition, kidney, liver and psoas muscle volumes showed significant reductions.

Visceral fat in aging patients was found to strongly increase. Total muscle volumes showed an

overall decrease.

Are debilitating health conditions associated with age inevitable?

While the inherent risk of developing certain health conditions increases as you grow older,

stark differences in risk rate exist between individuals who make healthy lifestyle choices and

individuals who live a sedentary life. Dr. Raji’s and Dr. Attariwala’s recent research shows that,

by participating in frequent exercise-based activities, brain volumes increase. Physical activity

also reduces visceral and subcutaneous fat and improves organ health overall.

If you’re interested in taking a snapshot of your current state of health, you may be interested in

our AIM Onco-Rads WB-MRI Scan, which can screen your organs and body fat from your brain

to your ankles.

More information on the research paper can be found below:

Differential Patterns of Brain and Body Aging on MR Imaging
Published in:	Alzheimer’s & Dementia: The Journal of the Alzheimer’s Association
Article URL:	https://doi.org/10.1002/alz.093387