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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.
"Age is the No. 1 risk factor for Alzheimer's, but these findings show us that it's possible for centenarians to thrive despite their advanced age," said Dr. Richard Isaacson, director of the Alzheimer's Prevention Clinic at Weill Cornell Medicine and New York-Presbyterian Hospital, who headed the study.
A study by Isaacson's team at the Alzheimer's Prevention Clinic found it was possible to improve cognitive function and reduce risk, especially in those who followed suggestions on lifestyle modification, such as exercise, nutrition, vascular risk and medications.
This six-year study of centenarians -- people who are over 100 years old -- found that despite high levels of a brain marker associated with cognitive decline, called amyloid beta, these centenarians were still sharp and performed well on cognitive tests.
Some of these previous studies have had success in improving cognitive function and reducing risk. A 3D computer illustration depicts senile amyloid plaque, brown, in the brain, which kill surrounding neurons, depicted in blue. Large numbers of the plaques are characteristic features of Alzheimer's disease.
Researchers still aren't sure exactly why some people are protected from cognitive decline, while others are spared. The researchers in the study proposed some of these protective factors associated with cognitive performance could be education, frequent cognitive activity and even IQ. But there can be more at play.
STOCK PHOTO/Getty Images. 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 ...
In fact, they said the risk of dementia may not necessarily increase once you pass your 100th birthday. "A person between 70 and 95 years old is exposed to the same dementia risk as a person who lives between age 100 and 102," said Henne Holstege, Ph.D., of Amsterdam University Medical College in the Netherlands, who was involved in the study.
Although these findings shed light on aging and cognitive function, it still remains a complex phenomenon that needs more exploration, according to some experts. "Dementia and Alzheimer's tend to be multifactorial conditions, meaning that a mix of genetics, age, environment, lifestyle behaviors and medical conditions that coexist together ...
Almost half the people who live to be 85 years old will develop Alzheimer's disease. It's a debilitating condition that costs a staggering $600 billion a year worldwide. Philadelphia scientists are among those working harder than ever to stop it.
Dr. Lee and Dr. John Trojanowski have lead the way as part of a consortium of experts. Now after years of analysis, and trial and error, they've had a breakthrough. They discovered that Tau proteins get misfolded and cause tangled information to spread from cell to cell.