AI Shows How Fast Our Brain Ages: New Tool Predicts Age Speed-Up
Have you ever heard about the difference between how old our brain feels versus how old it really is? Scientists call this “age acceleration”. It’s like having a 40-year-old brain in a 60-year-old body. Researchers have been studying this to understand how our brains work, the changes as we age, and early warning signs of brain problems.
The smart minds at Mount Sinai have come up with a super cool tool named “HistoAge”. Using AI, this tool can guess how old a person might live to be, just by looking at their brain’s cells. And guess what? It’s got a knack for it, getting super close with its guesses, only off by about 5.45 years on average.
What’s more exciting about HistoAge? It can point out areas in our brains that might be getting old faster. This could help doctors spot diseases related to aging sooner.
To make this tool, researchers studied over 700 brain pictures, focusing on a part called the hippocampus. It’s a spot in our brain that helps with our memories.
When they compared HistoAge to other tools, it came out on top. It was better at linking brain aging to memory problems and signs of Alzheimer’s, a common brain disease in older folks.
Mount Sinai’s next big plan? They want to gather even more brain data. With more data, they hope to make AI tools even smarter, helping us learn more about brain diseases and how to tackle them.
In short, as AI and medical research team up, tools like HistoAge show the promise of a brighter, healthier future. With these advancements, we’re getting closer to understanding our brain’s mysteries.
