Researchers have found that a body with more muscle mass with a lower ratio of visceral fat to muscle mass is associated with a younger brain age. The list will be presented next week at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA).
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Visceral fat is located deep in the abdominal cavity, surrounding vital internal organs. According to the study’s senior author Cyrus Raji, associate professor of radiology and neuroscience in the Department of Radiology at the Mallinckrodt Radiology Institute at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, Missouri, improved brain health may reduce the risk of future brain diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease.
“Although it is known that chronological aging translates into a loss of muscle mass and an increase in hidden belly fat, this study shows that these health indicators are linked to brain aging itself. It turns out that muscle mass and fat mass, which are quantified in the body, are key indicators of brain health, accompanying the brain aging process,” explains Raji.
Brain age is the computational estimate of chronological age from structural MRI of the brain. Muscle mass, monitored by body MRI, can be an indirect marker for many interventions aimed at reducing frailty and improving brain health, and brain lifespan predicted by structural brain imaging can provide information about risk factors for Alzheimer’s disease, such as muscle loss.
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For the ongoing study, 1,164 healthy subjects (52% women) from four sites were scanned using whole-body magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).
The average chronological age of the participants was 55.17 years. The researchers combined MRI images with T1-weighted sequences, a technique that produces images in which fat appears bright and fluid appears dark. This allows optimal imaging of muscle, adipose and brain tissue.
An artificial intelligence (AI) algorithm was used to measure normal total muscle volume, visceral fat (hidden abdominal fat), subcutaneous fat (fat under the skin), and brain age.
As a result, the scientists found that a greater ratio of visceral fat to muscle mass was associated with older brain age, while subcutaneous fat showed no significant association with brain age.
According to Professor Raji, gaining muscle mass and reducing visceral fat are achievable goals. Whole-body MRI and brain age estimates using AI provide objective criteria for planning and monitoring interventions, including programs or treatments under study aimed at reducing visceral fat and preserving muscle mass.
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“This research validates widely accepted hypotheses about the relationship between biomarkers of body composition and brain health, and provides a basis for including these biomarkers in future trials of various metabolic interventions and therapies,” the professor said.
Raji also stated that the results of this study could guide the development of future treatments, such as GLP-1-based drugs, which target visceral fat rather than subcutaneous fat and reduce muscle loss. Since drugs like Ozempic are effective in stimulating fat loss, “they may also be associated with greater loss of muscle mass,” the scientist says.
“Our study can guide future treatments by advancing research that measures MRI body fat, muscle mass and brain age, which can help determine optimal dosing regimens for GLP-1s to achieve the best outcomes for body and brain health,” he said.