Age-related changes of fourth ventricle in human brain

Introduction. There are very few modern studies on determination of the fourth ventricle volume using intravital visualization techniques in subjects at a specific age period considering their sex. Objective. To carry out a comparative analysis of IV ventricular volume in men and women of the first and second periods of adulthood, elderly age and old age. Materials and methods. We analyzed the results of magnetic resonance imaging studies of the brain of 196 patients (102 men and 94 women) divided into four groups. The I group consisted of 50 persons of the first period of mature age (21–35 years); the II group included 52 persons of the second period of mature age (36–59 years); in the III group, there were 50 elderly persons (56–74 years) and 44 senile persons (75–88 years) were in the IV group. We used 3D reconstruction mode to determine the volume of the fourth ventricle. Results. The analysis of the results of the study revealed a statistically significant increase in the parameters of ventricular IV volume from the first period of adulthood to old age. Thus, ventricular IV volume increased by 30.3% in men and by 30.5% (p<0,01) in women from the first period of adulthood to the second period of adulthood. From the second period of adulthood to old age, IV ventricular volume measures increased by 35.3% in men and by 35.0% in women (p<0.01). Finally, from old age to senile age, the volume values in men increase by 21.1% and in women by 20.9% (p<0.01). When comparing volume parameters of IV ventricle between samples of both sexes there were no statistically reliable differences. At the same time, we can see a tendency of prevalence of volume parameters in men in every studied age period in comparison with women (p>0.05). Conclusion. Thus, the data obtained can become a certain age «benchmark» in the context of personalized medicine when using various intravital methods of studying brain structures, such as magnetic resonance imaging or computed tomography, serving as a starting point for further research work.

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