Using myelin water fraction (MWF) and DTI, we investigated age- and sex-related differences in brain maturation and degeneration in a large cohort of unimpaired participants. We observed quadratic relationships between MWF or DTI indices and age, suggesting that brain maturation continues until middle age followed by a phase of rapid degeneration afterward. Sexual dimorphism in these processes was not significant in most cerebral regions studied. Finally, we observed weak-to-moderate correlations between DTI indices and MWF indicating that these indices could not serve as proxies of myelin content while highlighting the value of using multiple quantitative MRI metrics in clinical investigation.
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