Age-related total gray matter and white matter changes in normal adult brain. Part II: quantitative magnetization transfer ratio histogram analysis

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: The magnetization transfer ratio (MTR) is a sensitive and quantitative identifier of underlying structural changes in the brain. We quantitatively evaluated age- and sex-related MTR changes in global gray matter (GM) and global white matter (WM) in healthy adults. METHODS: Fifty-two healthy volunteers (21 men, 31 women) aged 20-86 years underwent dual-echo fast spin-echo and magnetization transfer imaging performed with and then without a saturation pulse. GM and WM were distinguished by using a computer-assisted semiautomated segmentation technique. MTR histograms were generated for each segmented tissue in each subject and compared among age and sex groups. RESULTS: The mean, median, first quartile, and peak height of the MTR histogram were significantly lower in the older group (> or =50 years) than those in the younger group (<50 years) for both GM and WM. The age dependency of these values can be expressed in a quadratic fashion over the entire span of adulthood. The MTRs started to decline only after the age of approximately 40 years in both tissues. No statistically significant differences in MTR histogram measurements between the sexes were observed. CONCLUSION: The different MTR values for both GM and WM in the two age groups suggest that notable microscopic changes occur in GM and WM with advancing age, yet no significant sex-related variations in MTR measurements were found in these neurologically healthy adults. Such normative data based on the inherent contrast in MTRs are essential in studies of specific disorders of aging, and they may have implications for our understanding of the gross structural changes in both GM and WM in the aging brain.