University Of ConnecticutThis news may provide interesting insights regarding the workings of the brain. A research by the Health Center’s Dr. Leslie Wolfson and his team has supposedly exhibited for the first time that particular alterations in the brain’s white matter are said to be extremely prognostic of the growth of disability in older adults.

Dr. Wolfson mentioned that mobility could be a vital constituent of independence and standard of life for elderly people. Alterations concerning brain white matter are supposedly observed in several MRI brain scans of older adults.

Wolfson, professor and chair of the Department of Neurology, commented, “They are so common that until recently it was assumed they don’t matter and may represent normal aging. But our research found that these brain changes are a good indicator of problems in older adults such as difficulty walking, thinking, and remaining continent.”

Wolfson is of the opinion that interventions like aggressive treatment of high blood pressure may aid in averting or inhibiting these declines, thereby enabling older adults to stay independent, energetic and fit for a longer time.

The research was published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society.