Changes in weight and compositions of major membrane components of human brain during the span of adult human life of Swedes

Abstract

Brain weight, total solids, protein, and major lipids have been determined in 83 female and 101 male brains from subjects 20-100 years of age. The brain weight began to diminish at 20 years of age. The brain weight at 20 years for females: 1,368 +/- 26 and for males 1,632 +/- 27 g diminished at 100 years for females to 1,100 +/- 25 and for males to 1,266 +/- 25 g, a decrease of 20% for female and 22% for male brains. The decrease in dry solids was larger during the same period, 36% for females and males. Proteins decreased by 39% in females and 37% in males. Phospholipids decreased by 42% in females and 43% in males, cholesterol by 47% and 53%, cerebroside by 46% and 58%, sulfatide by 46% and 49% and gangliosides by 28% and 30%, respectively. There is, thus, a significantly larger loss of myelin lipids than of gangliosides-the biochemical marker for neuronal membranes. The loss of myelin lipids was particularly large in female brain after 70 years of age, while the loss in male brain was linear as early as from 20 years of age.

MRI-based volumetry of head compartments: Normative values of healthy adults

“…It is also well known that the brain volume decreases with age in our sample by À113 ml/50 years (8.2%), which is similar to studies based on autopsy (Debakan and Sadowsky, 1978;Miller et al, 1980;Svennerholm et al, 1997) and MRI data (Blatter et al, 1995;Jernigan et al, 2001). This loss is more pronounced in the males than females and in the gray than the white matter compartment.…”

“…First, autopsy studies have been carried out systematically for more than 100 years now (Blinkov and Glezer, 1968;Chrzanowska and Beben, 1973;Debakan and Sadowsky, 1978;Hwang et al, 1995;Miller et al, 1980;Peters et al, 2000;Svennerholm et al, 1997). Because real volumes and weights are measured, data from autopsy studies may be considered as the ''gold standard''.…”

Effects of short-term dietary nitrate supplementation on blood pressure, O2uptake kinetics, and muscle and cognitive function in older adults

“…In addition to brain shrinkage in senescence (71), the capacity of the brain to produce ATP via oxidative phosphorylation decreases (10) and, in combination with chronic ischemia of white matter (63), this results in a decline of cognitive function. Furthermore, age-related mitochondrial dysfunction has been associated with the neuronal loss, which is a feature of neurodegenerative diseases (13).…”

Comparison of Berg Balance Scale in Different Age Groups.

“…Brain size and weight reduction occurs mainly in the areas of cerebral cortex. It has been widely found that the volume of the brain and/or its weight declines with age at a rate of around 5% per decade after age 40 [10]. It must be remembered that the brains of an elderly group may show cohort effects related to wider environmental influences, for example, lack of high energy foods while growing up [11].…”