Age-Related Changes in Caudate Glucose Metabolism: Insights from Normative Modeling Study in Healthy Subjects

Background: As the global population ages, the prevalence of neurodegenerative conditions, such as Alzheimer’s disease (AD), Parkinson’s disease (PD), dementia with Lewy bodies, and frontotemporal dementia, continues to rise. Understanding the impact of aging on striatal glucose metabolism is pivota...

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Main Authors: Zijing Zhang, Yuchen Li, Qi Xia, Qing Yu, Luqing Wei, Guo-Rong Wu
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2025-01-01
Series:Metabolites
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Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2218-1989/15/2/67
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author Zijing Zhang
Yuchen Li
Qi Xia
Qing Yu
Luqing Wei
Guo-Rong Wu
author_facet Zijing Zhang
Yuchen Li
Qi Xia
Qing Yu
Luqing Wei
Guo-Rong Wu
author_sort Zijing Zhang
collection DOAJ
description Background: As the global population ages, the prevalence of neurodegenerative conditions, such as Alzheimer’s disease (AD), Parkinson’s disease (PD), dementia with Lewy bodies, and frontotemporal dementia, continues to rise. Understanding the impact of aging on striatal glucose metabolism is pivotal in identifying potential biomarkers for the early detection of these disorders. Methods: We investigated age-related changes in striatal glucose metabolism using both region of interest (ROI)-based and voxel-wise correlation analyses. Additionally, we employed a normative modeling approach to establish age-related metabolic trajectories and assess individual deviations from these normative patterns. In vivo cerebral glucose metabolism was quantified using a molecular neuroimaging technique, <sup>18</sup>F-FDG PET. Results: Our results revealed significant negative correlations between age and glucose metabolism in the bilateral caudate. Furthermore, the normative modeling demonstrated a clear, progressive decline in caudate metabolism with advancing age, and the most pronounced reductions were observed in older individuals. Conclusions: These findings suggest that metabolic reductions in the caudate may serve as a sensitive biomarker for normal aging and offer valuable insights into the early stages of neurodegenerative diseases. Moreover, by establishing age-specific reference values for caudate glucose metabolism, the normative model provides a framework for detecting deviations from expected metabolic patterns, which may facilitate the early identification of metabolic alterations that could precede clinical symptoms of neurodegenerative processes.
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spelling doaj-art-99bef0f2bdb8426fb7782f6cecb7fda42025-08-20T02:03:28ZengMDPI AGMetabolites2218-19892025-01-011526710.3390/metabo15020067Age-Related Changes in Caudate Glucose Metabolism: Insights from Normative Modeling Study in Healthy SubjectsZijing Zhang0Yuchen Li1Qi Xia2Qing Yu3Luqing Wei4Guo-Rong Wu5Key Laboratory of Cognition and Personality, Faculty of Psychology, Southwest University, Chongqing 400715, ChinaKey Laboratory of Cognition and Personality, Faculty of Psychology, Southwest University, Chongqing 400715, ChinaKey Laboratory of Cognition and Personality, Faculty of Psychology, Southwest University, Chongqing 400715, ChinaKey Laboratory of Cognition and Personality, Faculty of Psychology, Southwest University, Chongqing 400715, ChinaSchool of Psychology, Jiangxi Normal University, Nanchang 330022, ChinaKey Laboratory of Cognition and Personality, Faculty of Psychology, Southwest University, Chongqing 400715, ChinaBackground: As the global population ages, the prevalence of neurodegenerative conditions, such as Alzheimer’s disease (AD), Parkinson’s disease (PD), dementia with Lewy bodies, and frontotemporal dementia, continues to rise. Understanding the impact of aging on striatal glucose metabolism is pivotal in identifying potential biomarkers for the early detection of these disorders. Methods: We investigated age-related changes in striatal glucose metabolism using both region of interest (ROI)-based and voxel-wise correlation analyses. Additionally, we employed a normative modeling approach to establish age-related metabolic trajectories and assess individual deviations from these normative patterns. In vivo cerebral glucose metabolism was quantified using a molecular neuroimaging technique, <sup>18</sup>F-FDG PET. Results: Our results revealed significant negative correlations between age and glucose metabolism in the bilateral caudate. Furthermore, the normative modeling demonstrated a clear, progressive decline in caudate metabolism with advancing age, and the most pronounced reductions were observed in older individuals. Conclusions: These findings suggest that metabolic reductions in the caudate may serve as a sensitive biomarker for normal aging and offer valuable insights into the early stages of neurodegenerative diseases. Moreover, by establishing age-specific reference values for caudate glucose metabolism, the normative model provides a framework for detecting deviations from expected metabolic patterns, which may facilitate the early identification of metabolic alterations that could precede clinical symptoms of neurodegenerative processes.https://www.mdpi.com/2218-1989/15/2/67agingstriatal glucose metabolismcaudatenormative modeling
spellingShingle Zijing Zhang
Yuchen Li
Qi Xia
Qing Yu
Luqing Wei
Guo-Rong Wu
Age-Related Changes in Caudate Glucose Metabolism: Insights from Normative Modeling Study in Healthy Subjects
Metabolites
aging
striatal glucose metabolism
caudate
normative modeling
title Age-Related Changes in Caudate Glucose Metabolism: Insights from Normative Modeling Study in Healthy Subjects
title_full Age-Related Changes in Caudate Glucose Metabolism: Insights from Normative Modeling Study in Healthy Subjects
title_fullStr Age-Related Changes in Caudate Glucose Metabolism: Insights from Normative Modeling Study in Healthy Subjects
title_full_unstemmed Age-Related Changes in Caudate Glucose Metabolism: Insights from Normative Modeling Study in Healthy Subjects
title_short Age-Related Changes in Caudate Glucose Metabolism: Insights from Normative Modeling Study in Healthy Subjects
title_sort age related changes in caudate glucose metabolism insights from normative modeling study in healthy subjects
topic aging
striatal glucose metabolism
caudate
normative modeling
url https://www.mdpi.com/2218-1989/15/2/67
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AT qixia agerelatedchangesincaudateglucosemetabolisminsightsfromnormativemodelingstudyinhealthysubjects
AT qingyu agerelatedchangesincaudateglucosemetabolisminsightsfromnormativemodelingstudyinhealthysubjects
AT luqingwei agerelatedchangesincaudateglucosemetabolisminsightsfromnormativemodelingstudyinhealthysubjects
AT guorongwu agerelatedchangesincaudateglucosemetabolisminsightsfromnormativemodelingstudyinhealthysubjects