At Prenuvo, we believe that answers to today’s most pressing health challenges are already inside us, if we know where to look. Using our proprietary dataset, which is the largest collection of whole-body MRI scans in primarily asymptomatic individuals in the world, our in-house AI research team and research partners are releasing two new studies that explore how everyday habits leave structural footprints in our bodies and brains.
Both studies have been presented at the 2025 ISMRM Annual Meeting (International Society of Magnetic Resonance).
Here’s what we found:
1. Just 2 drinks a day? Your brain and organs already know
While much of the research out there on alcohol focuses on those with alcohol use disorder, this study looked at people who drink moderately (two or more drinks a day) and found that even without clinical addiction, the effects are measurable and systemic.
In a study of over 1,100 people with no diagnosis of alcohol use disorder, moderate drinkers showed:
- Loss of brain volume in regions tied to memory, motor control, and decision-making
- Liver volumes 10% larger than non-drinkers
- Visceral fat levels 15.6% higher than non-drinkers
The most surprising part? Changes in organ size were independently linked to brain atrophy, suggesting that alcohol’s effects aren’t siloed; they ripple across systems. This points to a broader, systemic toll that moderate drinking may take on long-term brain health. Learn more: link to full study.
Research participants:
- Vigilance Health Imaging Network, Vancouver, Canada
- Prenuvo Inc, Vancouver, Canada
- Pacific Brain Health Center, Pacific Neuroscience Institute and Foundation, Santa Monica, CA, USA
- Saint John’s Cancer Institute at Providence Saint John’s Health Center, Santa Monica, CA, USA
- Washington University School of Medicine in St Louis, Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology and Department of Neurology, St. Louis, MO, USA
2. Depression reduces brain volume, but exercise may help reverse it
Exercise is widely recommended to improve physical and mental health, but what’s actually happening in the brain when we move our bodies? A large-scale AI-assisted MRI study of 6,458 individuals (1,579 with depression) showed that individuals with depression had significantly smaller brain volumes than those without. However, among those who did exercise, some of that volume was preserved or even increased.
In depressed individuals, exercise was most strongly linked to brain growth in:
- Medial orbitofrontal cortex: Involved in reward, emotion, and decision-making; more volume here may help regulate mood and motivation.
- Lingual cortex: Associated with visual memory and emotional processing.
- Rostral middle frontal cortex and middle temporal cortex: Critical for attention, social reasoning, and interpreting emotional cues.
In non-depressed individuals, exercise showed the greatest impact on:
- Thalamus: The brain’s “relay center” that helps route information between regions.
- Fusiform cortex: Important for facial recognition and visual memory.
- Cerebellum: Known for motor control, but also increasingly recognized for its role in mood and cognition.
This suggests that not only can exercise mitigate the structural brain impacts of depression, but the brain responds differently depending on mental health history. It's a powerful clue in understanding how, and for whom, lifestyle interventions might have the greatest neuroprotective impact. Learn more: link to full study.
Research participants:
- Vigilance Health Imaging Network, Vancouver, Canada
- Pacific Brain Health Center, Pacific Neuroscience Institute and Foundation, Santa Monica, CA, USA
- Saint John’s Cancer Institute at Providence Saint John’s Health Center, Santa Monica, CA, USA
- Prenuvo Inc, Vancouver, Canada
- Washington University School of Medicine in St Louis, Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology, St. Louis, MO, USA
- Department of Neurology, Washington University in St. Louis, MO, USA
- Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, David Geffen School of Medicine at University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA
What's next?
Our imaging data is fueling a new wave of AI-powered research across brain health, cancer, internal medicine, and more.
So far, our work has led to 30+ presentations and papers at major conferences like RSNA and AACR. One of our studies on brain volume loss was even named the most-read article of 2023 in the Journal of Aging and Disease.
We’re continuing to partner with leading academic institutions to explore big questions in human health, and we’re doing it with the kind of data that’s never been available at this scale before.
