Abstract

The premature aging hypothesis of alcohol dependence proposes that the neurobiological and behavioural deficits in individuals with alcohol dependence are analogous to those of chronological aging. However, to date no systematic neurobiological evidence for this hypothesis has been provided. To test the hypothesis, 119 alcohol-dependent subjects and 97 age- and gender-matched healthy control subjects underwent structural MRI. Whole-brain grey matter volume maps were computed from structural MRI scans using voxel-based morphometry and parcelled into a comprehensive set of anatomical brain regions. Regional grey matter volume averages served as the basis for cross-regional similarity analyses and a brain age model. We found a striking correspondence between regional patterns of alcohol- and age-related grey matter loss across 110 brain regions. The brain age model revealed that the brain age of age-matched AD subjects was increased by up to 11.7 years. Interestingly, while no brain aging was detected in the youngest AD subjects (20–30 years), we found that alcohol-related brain aging systematically increased in the following age decades controlling for lifetime alcohol consumption and general health status. Together, these results provide strong evidence for an accelerated aging model of AD and indicate an elevated risk of alcohol-related brain aging in elderly individuals.

Details

Title
Quantitative neurobiological evidence for accelerated brain aging in alcohol dependence
Author
Guggenmos, Matthias 1   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Schmack, Katharina 1 ; Sekutowicz, Maria 1 ; Garbusow, Maria 1 ; Sebold, Miriam 1 ; Sommer, Christian 2 ; Smolka, Michael N 3   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Wittchen, Hans-Ulrich 4 ; Zimmermann, Ulrich S 2 ; Heinz, Andreas 1 ; Sterzer, Philipp 1 

1  Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Charité Universitätsmedizin, Berlin, Germany 
2  Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany 
3  Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany; Neuroimaging Center, Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany 
4  Institute of Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany 
Pages
1-7
Publication year
2017
Publication date
Dec 2017
Publisher
Nature Publishing Group
e-ISSN
21583188
Source type
Scholarly Journal
Language of publication
English
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41398-017-0037-y
ProQuest document ID
1983420803
Copyright
© 2017. This work is published under http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ (the “License”). Notwithstanding the ProQuest Terms and Conditions, you may use this content in accordance with the terms of the License.