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Brain metabolism and blood flow during aging
1Laboratory of Neurosciences, National Institute on Aging, Bethesda, MD 20892.
Electroencephalography and Clinical Neurophysiology. Supplement
|January 1, 1987
Summary
Healthy aging and Alzheimer's disease are associated with reduced functional brain connectivity. Elderly individuals and those with Alzheimer's show fewer significant correlations in brain glucose metabolism compared to younger adults.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Medical Imaging
- Gerontology
Background:
- Cerebral blood flow decreases in aging brains, but glucose consumption remains stable.
- Regional cerebral glucose metabolism (rCMRglc) can indicate functional brain connectivity.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate changes in functional brain connectivity with age and in Alzheimer's disease.
- To assess interregional correlations of resting glucose metabolism.
Main Methods:
- Positron emission tomography (PET) with [18F]fluorodeoxyglucose was used to measure rCMRglc.
- Partial correlation analysis, controlling for whole-brain metabolism, was applied to 59 brain regions.
- The study included healthy males across a wide age range, young and elderly groups, and Alzheimer's patients with controls.
Main Results:
- Healthy elderly subjects exhibited fewer significant correlations in brain glucose metabolism compared to younger adults, particularly between frontal and parietal regions.
- Alzheimer's patients showed reduced correlations between homologous brain regions, indicating metabolic asymmetries.
- Strongest correlations in healthy young adults were observed between bilaterally symmetric regions and within frontal/parietal and temporal/occipital lobes.
Conclusions:
- Healthy aging is associated with a reduction in cerebral functional interactions.
- Alzheimer's disease is linked to decreased functional connectivity and metabolic asymmetries.
- rCMRglc correlations offer insights into age-related and disease-related brain network changes.