The secrets of the SuperAgers

What’s the secrets of the SuperAgers?  They are people in their eighties who have cognitive powers, such as memory recall, that are usually only seen in someone 30 years younger.

There are several elements at play, but several key ones are staying curious about the world and maintaining an active social life.  Their brains also seem to be immune to any adverse effects of plaques, which are associated with Alzheimer’s disease.

Researchers at Northwestern University have been researching the SuperAgers for more than 25 years to understand how some people maintain exceptional mental sharpness late in life.  They consistently perform as well on memory tests as someone who is at least at least 30 years younger, challenging the long-standing belief that cognitive decline is unavoidable with age.

Always being inquisitive and outgoing, while maintaining an active social life, are common traits seen in the SuperAgers, but their brains—donated after their death—have especially interested the researchers.

Some of these brains showed the presence of amyloid and tau proteins, also known as plaques and tangles, while others haven’t shown any signs of the proteins.   “There are two mechanisms that lead someone to become a SuperAger.  One is resistance: they don’t make the plaques and tangles. Two is resilience: they make them, but they don’t do anything to their brains,” said Sandra Weintraub, one of the researchers.

Around 290 SuperAgers have participated in the research project, and 77 have donated their brains for further research.

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