Authors: Fan Yi, Jing Yuan, Judith Somekh, Mor Peleg, Yi-Cheng Zhu, Zhilong Jia, Fei Wu, Zhengxing Huang
Published: 2025-03-12
Source: Full article
Brain age gap (BAG), the deviation between estimated brain age and chronological age, is a promising marker of brain health. However, the genetic architecture and reliable targets for brain aging remains poorly understood. In this study, we estimate magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)–based brain age using deep learning models trained on the UK Biobank and validated with three external datasets. A genome-wide association study for BAG identified two unreported loci and seven previously reported loci. By integrating Mendelian Randomization (MR) and colocalization analysis on eQTL and pQTL data, we prioritized seven genetically supported druggable genes, including