Body size interacts with the structure of the central nervous system: A multi-center in vivo neuroimaging study

bioRxiv preprint, 2024 · DOI: https://doi.org/10.1101/2024.04.29.591421 · Published: May 1, 2024

Spinal Cord Injury Neuroimaging Neurology

Simple Explanation

This study explores how body size (height and weight) relates to the structure of the brain and spinal cord using MRI scans. The researchers found that taller individuals tend to have larger brain gray matter volume and spinal cord white matter area. Body weight was weakly associated with the microstructure of the spinal cord, specifically myelin content.

Study Duration

Not specified

Participants

267 healthy human adults (age 30.1±6.6 years old, 125 females)

Evidence Level

Not specified

Key Findings

1
Body height correlated moderately with brain gray matter volume and spinal cord white matter area.
2
Body weight correlated weakly with magnetization transfer ratio (MTR) in spinal cord white matter.
3
Age had a minimal impact on brain and spinal cord structural data variance in this young adult sample.

Research Summary

The study investigates the relationship between body size parameters and brain and spinal cord MRI metrics in 267 healthy adults. Results indicate that body height correlates with brain gray matter volume and spinal cord white matter area, while body weight correlates with spinal cord white matter microstructure. The study concludes that body size is a significant biological variable and should be considered in clinical neuroimaging studies.

Practical Implications

Clinical Study Design

Body size should be included as a mandatory variable in the design of clinical neuroimaging studies examining spinal cord and brain structure.

Normalization Strategies

Structural measurements should be normalized for body size or body size should be used as a confounding factor in analyses.

Understanding Pathophysiology

Considering body size in neuroimaging studies can lead to a better understanding of human physiology and pathophysiology, aiding in the development of robust biomarkers for clinical trials.

Study Limitations

1
The study predominantly recruited young adults with average weight and low-to-moderate BMI, limiting the generalizability to older populations or individuals with extreme BMI values.
2
Scanner-related variability in spinal cord CSA, DTI, and MTR measurements needs to be addressed in multi-center data acquisition and analysis.
3
The spine-generic database version does not allow assessing the impact of socioeconomic and race/ethnicity status on obtained MRI metrics.

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