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Dementia and Alzheimer’s disease may not be an inevitable part of aging, according to a recent Dutch study, which identified 100-year-olds with high cognitive performance despite risk factors for decline.
This six-year study of centenarians – people over the age of 100 – found that despite high levels of a brain marker associated with cognitive decline, called beta amyloid, these centenarians were still alive and performing well on cognitive tests. . The researchers concluded that these elderly subjects may have resilient mechanisms protecting them from memory loss.
In fact, they say the risk of dementia doesn’t necessarily increase once you pass your 100th birthday.
“A person between the ages of 70 and 95 is at the same risk of dementia as a person between the ages of 100 and 102,” said Henne Holstege, Ph.D., University of Amsterdam in the Netherlands, who was involved in the study.
These findings give some a silver lining: Although dementia and Alzheimer’s disease are more likely to occur with increasing age, it won’t be everyone’s fate.
“Age is the # 1 risk factor for Alzheimer’s disease, but these results show us that it’s possible for centenarians to thrive despite their advanced age,” said Dr. Richard Isaacson, director of the Alzheimer’s disease prevention clinic at Weill Cornell Medicine and New York-Presbyterian Hospital, which led the study.
While these findings shed light on aging and cognitive function, it remains a complex phenomenon that requires further exploration, some experts say.
“Dementia and Alzheimer’s disease tend to be multifactorial conditions, meaning that a mixture of genetics, age, environment, lifestyle behaviors and medical conditions coexist together and can lead a person towards or away from cognitive decline, ”Isaacson said.
Researchers are still not sure exactly why some people are protected from cognitive decline, while others are spared. The study researchers proposed that some of these protective factors associated with cognitive performance could be education, frequent cognitive activity, and even IQ. But there may be more at stake.
“There could be protective immunological and cardiovascular risk factors that help keep their brains resilient and cognitively functional even in old age,” said Dr. Gayatri Devi, neurologist and psychiatrist at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York.
The role of the brain markers analyzed in the memory study, including a sticky plaque called beta amyloid commonly found in the brains of people with Alzheimer’s disease, is now hotly debated among experts. . The varying presence of these markers in this study further contributes to this complicated process.
“It’s important to understand that the presence of amyloid in the brain doesn’t definitely mean a person will develop dementia,” Isaacson said. “There are other lifestyle factors and behaviors that can make us resilient and resistant to cognitive decline.”
Importantly, there are a few caveats to this study. For example, brain markers were only analyzed in 44 of the participants, so the results may not apply to everyone, and more research needs to be done to learn more about the complexity of aging.
Other studies have looked at preventing cognitive decline. According to the Lancet Commission 2020 report, 40% of dementia cases are preventable based on modifiable risk factors. Some of these earlier studies have been successful in improving cognitive function and reducing risk.
A study by Isaacson’s team at the Alzheimer’s Disease Prevention Clinic found that it was possible to improve cognitive function and reduce risk, especially in those who followed modification suggestions. lifestyle, such as exercise, nutrition, vascular risks, and medications.
Even though more is discovered and debated, experts still recommend maintaining a healthy lifestyle, including a balanced diet, exercise, and doctor visits, to maintain cognition as we age.
“It’s critical that people at risk see their doctors regularly and consider cognitive screening tests,” Isaacson said.
Alexis E. Carrington, MD, is a dermatology researcher at the University of California at Davis and a contributor to the ABC News medical unit.
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