Compared to Men, Women Brain Faster Stress For Old

Jakarta, for the issue of age, on average women have a higher life expectancy in some countries, mean age of the women longer than men. But for the problems of the brain was the opposite.

Women are more susceptible to decreased ability of the brain and are more likely to develop Alzheimer's. Researchers did find out what underlies this trend, namely stress. In women, stress makes the brain more rapidly aging than men.

In one study, scientists have found that some parts of the body's aging process and time with different on each person.

When older, some genes are more active while other genes are less active. Changes in these activities can be monitored through the 'transcriptome', ie by collecting data from all RNA or DNA is the substance that carries the instructions to the cells.

The team of researchers from various countries such as Australia, China, Germany and the United States collaborated to analyze the transcriptome of 55 men and women of all ages. In a report published in the journal Aging Cell, investigators said he was surprised by what they found.

Researchers also observed areas of the brain called the superior frontal gyrus (SFG) is located in the prefrontal cortex.

It found a striking difference between the sexes associated with age. Changes in the expression of brain areas related to aging more rapidly in women than in men.

"The changes include decreased energy production and nerve function, and increased regulation and immune response. This is the main characteristic of the aging brain. In other words, we found that the female brain aging faster than men, especially in the cortex prefrontal, "researchers said as quoted by Medical Daily, Thursday (09/08/2012).

This finding is surprising researchers. The reason, they initially suspected brain areas will be slower aging process or even inhibited in women.

In the area of ​​the superior frontal gyrus, the researchers found there were differences in the expression of 667 genes in men and women during the aging process. As many as 98 percent of them associated with a more rapid aging process in women.

Scientists are not sure if the cause is due to biological differences. The reason, half of the women showed a more accelerated aging process.

Therefore investigators accused the cause is the stress factor. Meanwhile, a researcher who did not participate in the study accuses the rapid aging of the brain in women is caused by inflammation.