Wear and tear in the vulnerable areas of the brain can cause cognitive decline during aging

Researchers at the Stevens Institute of Technology said that the pressure on the ventricular wall can explain the development of lesions in the aging brain
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As our brains age, small damages begin to appear in the white matter tracts that transmit information between neurons
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Lesions can damage white matter and cause cognitive impairment

The research, led by Johannes Weickenmeier, an assistant professor of mechanical engineering at Stevens University, emphasizes the importance of thinking of the brain as more than just a neural circuit that supports thought formation and memory formation
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It is also a physical object prone to failure and mechanical failure

These lesions are called deep and periventricular white matter high intensity because they appear as bright white plaques on MRI scans, but little is known about them

Through MRI scans of 8 healthy subjects, Weickenmeier worked with PhD student Valery Visser at the University of Zurich and Henry Rusinek, a radiologist at New York University’s Grossman School of Medicine, to develop a personality for each subject’s brain Computer model
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The research team mapped strains placed on the walls of the ventricles (the lining of fluid-filled chambers deep in the brain) as pressure pulse waves passing through the subject's cerebral spinal fluid (CSF)

Weickenmeier said: "The cell walls of the ventricle will gradually wear down over time, just like a balloon that is constantly inflated and deflated
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" "The pressure is not uniform-they are determined by the geometry of the ventricle, so we can predict Where will these failures happen

Weickenmeier said the model provides a simple, physically-based explanation for the location of these injuries, revealing that mechanical load "must be the main cause of disease

The team’s research was recently published in Scientific Reports and used 2D images showing cross-sections of the brain, but Weickenmeier’s team later extended the research to complete 3D models of the brain
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Next, Weickenmeier hopes to use advanced MRI technology to directly study the motion of the ventricle wall

Johannes Weickenmeier, Laboratory of Experimental and Computational Soft Matter Biomechanics, Stevens Institute of Technology
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Source: Stevens Institute of Technology

In the long term, the team’s findings may enable the development of new treatments for injuries
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Under normal circumstances, it is difficult for drug treatments to cross the blood-brain barrier to reach the affected area, but new research shows that through the leakage of the ventricular wall, the drug may directly enter the affected area

Weickenmeier explained that the broader conclusion of the team's research is that the aging process of the brain is mediated by physical processes, including the pressure of circulating blood and cerebrospinal fluid
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This emphasizes the necessity of healthy behaviors, such as getting enough exercise and avoiding exposure to harmful substances, which can alleviate the pressure on the brain
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references:

“Peak ependymal cell stretch overlaps with the onset locations of periventricular white matter lesions” by Valery L.
Visser, Henry Rusinek and Johannes Weickenmeier, 9 November 2021,Scientific Reports .

DOI: 10.
1038/s41598-021-00610-1