These elderly are also less susceptible to other types of neurodegenerative changes — ScienceDaily

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The study, “Superior global cognition in older people is associated with resistance to neurodegenerative pathologies: results of the 90+ study”, was published in the Journal of Alzheimer’s disease.

“People who are over the age of 90 and still have good memory and thinking skills tend to have similar levels of Alzheimer’s pathology in their brains,” said Roshni Biswas, a postdoctoral fellow at The 90+ studio. “Our findings indicate that while the neuropathological changes and vascular changes of Alzheimer’s disease are common in their brains, these people are less susceptible to other types of neurodegenerative changes, such as Lewy body disease.”

Age is the main risk factor for cognitive problems, such as Alzheimer’s, Lewy body disease, and other related dementias. Over the past 30 years, the number of people age 90 and older in the US has nearly tripled, and this number is projected to quadruple over the next four decades.

With this increase in age, many people see increased problems with memory and brain function. However, little data is available on changes in the brains of more than 90 people who maintain superior cognitive abilities, despite their age.

The aim of the study was to examine the brain characteristics of people without cognitive impairment and their relationship with higher cognitive abilities and reasoning in people older than 90 years.

“There are some people who can maintain high levels of cognitive function well into old age,” said María M. Corrada, ScD, co-principal investigator of the study and a professor in the Department of Neurology at the UCI School of Medicine. “Further research into the factors that allow these people to maintain their cognitive function could provide information on how to preserve cognitive health despite advancing age.”

The results of the study were derived from the analysis of autopsy data from 102 cognitively normal individuals who died at a mean age of 97.6 years. They also used cognitive test scores from people taken between two and 12 months before death. The average age of study participants at the time of their last visit was 97.1 years.

“In our future research, we will examine how lifestyle habits and health conditions are associated with superior cognition in people older than 90 years and the factors that contribute to maintaining stable cognitive function over time,” Biswas said.

The 90+ studio is a longitudinal study of aging and dementia that began in 2003 to study the older population, which is the fastest growing age group in the United States.

With over 2,000 enrolled participants, it is now one of the largest studies of its kind in the world. The project has produced several significant findings regarding cognitive function, health, and lifestyle habits in lifetime data from the older population.

This work was supported by the National Institutes of Health.