Men's brains shrink faster than women's.

MRI data shows that the male brain loses volume more rapidly and extensively with age, but this doesn't explain why women still suffer from Alzheimer's more often.

Analysis of over 12,000 MRI images shows that the male brain shrinks faster - Image: neurorelay.com

A long-term study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences showed that men's brains lose volume faster and more extensively than women's as they age. However, this difference does not explain why women are twice as likely to develop Alzheimer's disease as men.

The study analyzed more than 12,500 magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans of 4,726 healthy individuals, each scanned at least twice, with an average interval of three years. Scientists compared the thickness of the gray matter in the cerebral cortex and the size of memory-related regions, such as the hippocampus.

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The results showed that men experienced a greater reduction in volume in more areas, such as the postcentral cortex – the region that processes touch, pain, and temperature – which decreased by 2% per year in men, compared to only 1.2% in women.

According to Fiona Kumfor, a neuropsychologist at the University of Sydney, these results suggest that men's brains age faster, consistent with the fact that they have shorter life expectancies.

However, if the rate of brain shrinkage is the primary cause of Alzheimer's, women should ideally experience a greater decline in memory-related areas, something the study failed to observe.

Co-author Anne Ravndal from the University of Oslo suggests that the higher rate of Alzheimer's in women may stem from differences in life expectancy or susceptibility to the disease, rather than brain structure. Experts argue that Alzheimer's is a complex disorder that cannot be explained solely by changes in brain volume with age.

The research team also noted that the majority of participants had a high level of education—a factor that reduces the risk of Alzheimer's—so the results do not fully reflect the general population. When adjusted for education and predicted life expectancy, the rate of brain atrophy was nearly equivalent between the sexes.

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"Simply observing age-related brain shrinkage isn't enough to understand a complex disease like Alzheimer's," Kumfor stated. "We need more long-term follow-up studies on patients themselves to better understand how the disease progresses over time."

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Source: https://tuoitre.vn/nao-dan-ong-teo-nhanh-hon-phu-nu-20251014141453838.htm