Over time, it is known, the brain ages. As does the body. It is a physiological process, linked to many factors, starting with blood circulation. But, regardless of the opportunities and risks offered by genetic predispositionone must not think that they do not exist social factors capable of accelerating, or on the contrary slowing down, the physiological processes of senescence. Because there are elements that impact, perhaps in a completely imperceptible way on the clinical front but heavily on the social one, on what happens to the nervous system.
Now a research has tried to see how much in the countries where social inequalities are stronger, which arise from economic conditions as well as from the specific environmental situation, they can have an impact on the brain aging process and on the disparity between chronological age and biological age. The research, published on Nature Medicinehighlights how when there are more marked social, economic and environmental disparities increase the risks of degenerative processes. Even and especially if we are considering elderly people or those with pathologies such as Alzheimer’s disease.
How old is the brain?
The study shows how the rate of brain aging can vary significantly between individuals. This leads to a gap between the estimated biological age of the brain and the chronological ageor what is reported on the identity document.
The survey examined the combination of economic and environmental factors to verify their impact on brain aging processusing a sort of biological “stopwatch” that evaluated the deep learning of brain networks. The research examined over 5,000 people from 15 different countries, divided into Latin American and Caribbean nations and other areas. To evaluate the brain condition, data from functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and electroencephalography (EEG) were analyzed. In this way, the brain age gap in healthy individuals and in those with neurodegenerative conditions such as mild cognitive impairment, Alzheimer’s disease, and frontotemporal lobe degeneration (FTLD).
Women more at risk
As reported in a note from the University of Surrey, one of the authors of the study, Daniel Abasolo, “the research shows that in countries where inequality is higherpeople’s brains tend to age fasterespecially in areas of the brain most affected by aging. We found that factors such as socioeconomic inequality, air pollution and the impact of disease play a major role in this process of faster aging, particularly in poorer countries.”
Participants diagnosed with dementia, particularly Alzheimer’s, showed the most severe brain age gaps. The research also highlighted gender differences in brain aging, with women in Caribbean and Latin American countries showing more significant brain age gaps, particularly those with Alzheimer’s disease. Overall, the findings underscore the role of environmental and social factors in brain health disparities.
Tailor-made political choices
The results of this study are very important for assessing the impact of environment and economic conditions on brain health, particularly in understanding the interaction between the exposome and the mechanisms that underlie brain aging in different populations in healthy aging and dementia. The picture that emerges could help identify individuals at risk of neurodegenerative diseases and develop targeted interventions to mitigate these risks.
Furthermore, the results of the study highlight the importance of considering the biological integration of environmental and social factors in public health policies. It is up to politics to find strategies to reduce disparities in brain age and promote healthier ageing among populations by addressing issues such as socioeconomic inequality and environmental pollution.
Pollution weighs on us from a young age
On the occasion of the recent World Brain Day, the Italian Society of Neurology (SIN) drew attention to the relationship between air pollution and the development of cognitive activities demonstrated by an American scientific study by Wayne State University and Cincinnati Children’s Hospital.
The researchers, led by Clara Zundel, after studying 10 thousand young Americans aged between 9 and 12 years old taken from the ABCD (Nationwide Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development) database, discovered how theexposure to air pollutants, fine dust and in particular PM 2.5causes alterations in their brain connections resulting in attention disorders and mental problems. The study published in the journal Brain Connectivity by a group of neurologists, psychiatrists, environmental epidemiologists and biostatisticians indicates that exposure at an age when the main brain connections are developing is particularly dangerous. Moreover, at PM 2.5 damage also responsible for breathing problems such as asthma or breathing during sleep which is consequently disturbed, is also associated with that of pollutants present in food and water as also pointed out by the Italian Society of Neurology. The alarm is now confirmed by the main author of the study according to whom it is necessary to activate as soon as possible a new line of research in environmental neurology and psychiatry.
What is LATE and how much does it impact?
In more than 30% of people over 80 years old, there may be lesions in the brain vascular alterations as well as neuronal alterations due to what we call abiotrophic processes. Among these, in recent years an age-dependent condition that we call LATE (Limbic-predominant age-related TDP-43 encephalopathy) has become the object of study. In truth, this entity does not have a specific cause and is affected by different factors, just as happens with the skin or with sight or even with hearing. It is known that the limbic areas are particularly sensitive and that in the neurons of these areas a protein called TDP-43 which intervenes in conditions of neuronal stress. The symptoms are largely confined to the mechanisms of memory, especially the acquisition of new information.
