Global and Regional Sex-Related Differences, Asymmetry, and Peak Age of Brain Myelination in Healthy Adults

Khodanovich, Marina Y.; Svetlik, Mikhail V.; Naumova, Anna V.; Usova, Anna V.; Pashkevich, Valentina Y.; Moshkina, Marina V.; Shadrina, Maria M.; Kamaeva, Daria A.; Obukhovskaya, Victoria B.; Kataeva, Nadezhda G.; Levina, Anastasia Y.; Tumentceva, Yana A.; Yarnykh, Vasily L.

doi:10.3390/jcm13237065

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Global and Regional Sex-Related Differences, Asymmetry, and Peak Age of Brain Myelination in Healthy Adults

by

Marina Y. Khodanovich

^1,*

,

Mikhail V. Svetlik

¹

,

Anna V. Naumova

^1,2

,

Anna V. Usova

³

,

Valentina Y. Pashkevich

¹

,

Marina V. Moshkina

¹,

Maria M. Shadrina

¹,

Daria A. Kamaeva

⁴

,

Victoria B. Obukhovskaya

^1,5,

Nadezhda G. Kataeva

^1,6,

Anastasia Y. Levina

^1,7,

Yana A. Tumentceva

¹ and

Vasily L. Yarnykh

²

¹

Laboratory of Neurobiology, Research Institute of Biology and Biophysics, Tomsk State University, 36 Lenina Ave., Tomsk 634050, Russia

²

Department of Radiology, School of Medicine, South Lake Union Campus, University of Washington, 850 Republican Street, Seattle, WA 98109, USA

³

Cancer Research Institute, branch of the Tomsk National Research Medical Center of the Russian Academy of Sciences; 5 Kooperativny st., Tomsk 634009, Russia

⁴

Laboratory of Molecular Genetics and Biochemistry, Mental Health Research Institute, Tomsk National Research Medical Center of the Russian Academy of Sciences, 4 Aleutskaya Street, Tomsk 634014, Russia

⁵

Department of Fundamental Psychology and Behavioral Medicine, Siberian State Medical University, 2 Moskovskiy Trakt, Tomsk 634050, Russia

⁶

Department of Neurology and Neurosurgery, Siberian State Medical University, 2 Moskovskiy Trakt, Tomsk 634050, Russia

⁷

Medica Diagnostic and Treatment Center, 86 Sovetskaya St., Tomsk 634510, Russia

^*

Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.

J. Clin. Med. 2024, 13(23), 7065; https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm13237065

Submission received: 9 October 2024 / Revised: 16 November 2024 / Accepted: 19 November 2024 / Published: 22 November 2024

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Neuroimaging in 2024 and Beyond)

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Abstract

Background: The fundamental question of normal brain myelination in human is still poorly understood. Methods: Age-dependent global, regional, and interhemispheric sex-related differences in brain myelination of 42 (19 men, 23 women) healthy adults (19–67 years) were explored using the MRI method of fast macromolecular fraction (MPF) mapping. Results: Higher brain myelination in males compared to females was found in global white matter (WM), most WM tracts, juxtacortical WM regions, and putamen. The largest differences between men and women, exceeding 4%, were observed bilaterally in the frontal juxtacortical WM; angular, inferior occipital, and cuneus WM; external capsule; and inferior and superior fronto-orbital fasciculi. The majority of hemispheric differences in MPF were common to men and women. Sex-specific interhemispheric differences were found in juxtacortical WM; men more often had left-sided asymmetry, while women had right-sided asymmetry. Most regions of deep gray matter (GM), juxtacortical WM, and WM tracts (except for projection pathways) showed a later peak age of myelination in women compared to men, with a difference of 3.5 years on average. Body mass index (BMI) was associated with higher MPF and later peak age of myelination independent of age and sex. Conclusions: MPF mapping showed high sensitivity to assess sex-related differences in normal brain myelination, providing the basis for using this method in clinics.

Keywords: sex; gender; myelin; quantitative MRI; neuroimaging; macromolecular fraction mapping; magnetization transfer; MPF; white matter; asymmetry; interhemispheric differences; age; body mass index; BMI

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MDPI and ACS Style

Khodanovich, M.Y.; Svetlik, M.V.; Naumova, A.V.; Usova, A.V.; Pashkevich, V.Y.; Moshkina, M.V.; Shadrina, M.M.; Kamaeva, D.A.; Obukhovskaya, V.B.; Kataeva, N.G.; et al. Global and Regional Sex-Related Differences, Asymmetry, and Peak Age of Brain Myelination in Healthy Adults. J. Clin. Med. 2024, 13, 7065. https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm13237065

AMA Style

Khodanovich MY, Svetlik MV, Naumova AV, Usova AV, Pashkevich VY, Moshkina MV, Shadrina MM, Kamaeva DA, Obukhovskaya VB, Kataeva NG, et al. Global and Regional Sex-Related Differences, Asymmetry, and Peak Age of Brain Myelination in Healthy Adults. Journal of Clinical Medicine. 2024; 13(23):7065. https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm13237065

Chicago/Turabian Style

Khodanovich, Marina Y., Mikhail V. Svetlik, Anna V. Naumova, Anna V. Usova, Valentina Y. Pashkevich, Marina V. Moshkina, Maria M. Shadrina, Daria A. Kamaeva, Victoria B. Obukhovskaya, Nadezhda G. Kataeva, and et al. 2024. "Global and Regional Sex-Related Differences, Asymmetry, and Peak Age of Brain Myelination in Healthy Adults" Journal of Clinical Medicine 13, no. 23: 7065. https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm13237065

APA Style

Khodanovich, M. Y., Svetlik, M. V., Naumova, A. V., Usova, A. V., Pashkevich, V. Y., Moshkina, M. V., Shadrina, M. M., Kamaeva, D. A., Obukhovskaya, V. B., Kataeva, N. G., Levina, A. Y., Tumentceva, Y. A., & Yarnykh, V. L. (2024). Global and Regional Sex-Related Differences, Asymmetry, and Peak Age of Brain Myelination in Healthy Adults. Journal of Clinical Medicine, 13(23), 7065. https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm13237065

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Global and Regional Sex-Related Differences, Asymmetry, and Peak Age of Brain Myelination in Healthy Adults

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