Study seeks super agers' secrets to brain health

[Hum]

CHICAGO (AP) ? They're called "super agers" ? men and women who are in their 80s and 90s, but with brains and memories that seem far younger.

Researchers are looking at this rare group in the hope that they may find ways to help protect others from memory loss. And they've had some tantalizing findings: Imaging tests have found unusually low amounts of age-related plaques along with more brain mass related to attention and memory in these elite seniors.

"We're living long but we're not necessarily living well in our older years and so we hope that the SuperAging study can find factors that are modifiable and that we'll be able to use those to help people live long and live well," said study leader Emily Rogalski, a neuroscientist at Northwestern University's cognitive neurology and Alzheimer's disease center in Chicago.

The study is still seeking volunteers, but chances are you don't qualify: Fewer than 10 percent of would-be participants have met study criteria.

"We've screened over 400 people at this point and only about 35 of them have been eligible for this study, so it really represents a rare portion of the population," Rogalski said.

To qualify, would-be participants have to undergo a battery of mental tests. Once enrolled, they undergo periodic imaging scans and other medical tests. They also must be willing to donate their brains after death.

The memory tests include lists of about 15 words. "Super agers can remember at least nine of them 30 minutes later, which is really impressive because often older adults in their 80s can only remember just a couple," Rogalski said.

Special MRI scans have yielded other remarkable clues, Rogalski said. They show that in super agers, the brain's cortex, or outer layer, responsible for many mental functions including memory, is thicker than in typical 80- and 90-year-olds. And deep within the brain, a small region called the anterior cingulate, important for attention, is bigger than even in many 50- and 60-year-olds.

The super agers aren't just different on the inside; they have more energy than most people their age and share a positive, inquisitive outlook. Rogalski said the researchers are looking into whether those traits contribute to brain health.

Other research has linked a positive attitude with overall health. And some studies have suggested that people who are "cognitively active and socially engaged" have a reduced chance of developing Alzheimer's disease, but which comes first ? a healthy brain or a great attitude ? isn't known, said Heather Snyder, director of medical and scientific operations for the Alzheimer's Association.

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[Growled Member]

I was watching a program on Einstein the other day and he was one of these. They said he had the brain of a man half his age when he died.

[Hum]

^ I see many adults around here that have the brain of a 5 year-old. :laugh: