A Causal Analysis of the Effect of Age and Sex Differences on Brain Atrophy in the Elderly Brain.

ABSTRACT: We studied how brain volume loss in old age is affected by age, the APOE gene, sex, and the level of education completed. The quantitative characterization of brain volume loss at an old age relative to a young age requires-at least in principle-two MRI scans, one performed at a young age and one at an old age. There is, however, a way to address this problem when having only one MRI scan obtained at an old age. We computed the total brain losses of elderly subjects as a ratio between the estimated brain volume and the estimated total intracranial volume. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans of 890 healthy subjects aged 70 to 85 years were assessed. A causal analysis of factors affecting brain atrophy was performed using probabilistic Bayesian modelling and the mathematics of causal infe

SUBMITTER: Gomez-Ramirez J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9656120 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature