Mr. Rehbock and Mr. Steinman are both considered “super-agers,” people 80 and up who have the same memory ability as someone 20 to 30 years younger. Scientists at Northwestern University have been studying this remarkable group since 2000, in the hopes of discovering how they’ve avoided typical age-related cognitive decline, as well as more serious memory disorders like Alzheimer’s disease. A new review paper published Thursday summarizes a quarter century of their findings.
Super-agers are a diverse bunch; they don’t share a magic diet, exercise regimen or medication. But the one thing that does unite them is “how they view the importance of social relationships,” said Sandra Weintraub, a professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at the Northwestern Feinberg School of Medicine, who has been involved in the research since the start. “And personality wise, they tend to be on the extroverted side.”
The first 25 years of the Northwestern University SuperAging Program
During late life, “average” does not mean “intact.” For example, cross-sectional data from a common word list learning test show that average delayed word recall raw score at age 80 (5/15) is approximately half that at age 56 to 66 (9/15). Cognitive and neurobiological dissolution is therefore implicitly incorporated into concepts of the aging brain. This position is being challenged through investigations on “superaging,” a term that was coined at the Northwestern Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center (ADRC) to define persons ≥ 80 years with delayed word recall raw scores at least equal to those of individuals 20 to 30 years younger. During the first 25 years of this program we established that superagers constitute not only a neuropsychological but also a neurobiological phenotype distinctive from cognitively average age peers. With respect to brain structure, superagers have cortical volumes no different than neurotypical adults 20 to 30 years younger in contrast to neurotypical peers who do show such age-related shrinkage; they also have a region in the cingulate gyrus that is thicker than younger neurotypical adults. With respect to cellular biology, superagers have fewer Alzheimer’s disease–type changes in the brain, greater size of entorhinal neurons, fewer inflammatory microglia in white matter, better preserved cholinergic innervation, and a greater density of evolutionarily progressive von Economo neurons. In the future, deeper characterization of the superaging phenotype may lead to interventions that enhance resistance and resilience to involutional changes considered part of average (i.e., “normal”) brain aging. This line of work is helping to revise common misperceptions about the cognitive potential of senescence and has inspired investigations throughout the United States and abroad.
Highlights
“Normal cognitive aging” is a term that spans a broad spectrum from average for age to well beyond.
“Superaging” at the Northwestern University Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center (ADRC) refers to a unique cognitive and biological phenotype.
Post mortem findings support resilience and resistance to neuropathologic changes of aging.
“The human brain shrinks as it ages, affecting the ability to remember — it’s part of life. Yet there are a lucky few, called SuperAgers, who possess a brain that fights back. For these people, memories stay as sharp as they were 30 or more years in the past.”
Life extensionst Paul Kiesow (73), believes low-dose Deprenyl (selegiline) at 1.25 mg daily has prevented most of this age-related shrinkage. Paul has a 15 minute video presentation on X on this topic.
“Another common thread in all SuperAgers is a sense of autonomy, freedom and independence. They’re making decisions and living their lives the way that they want to live.”
One take I have on this is to adjust your lifestyle, including your social contacts, to minimize stress.
Yes, but then again, you have the “ornery old geezer” type who gets into fights with everyone, but lives forever … I’ve seen this more than once - it’s as if the orneriness keeps ‘em going, lol. But also, people who don’t just go along with the crowd for the sake of getting along, are willing to stand up for themselves, own their opinions and don’t take any guff might indicate high independence and functioning.
I am an 81 year-old woman, and I have a great memory, I play good golf, I am learning to play the keyboard and can already play several songs, I only started two months ago. I take a supplement called memory formula, by Dr. Shallenberger., I have been taking that for the last six years, I was finding it difficult to remember golfers names, however after just a month, I noticed that I could remember the names of my golfing partners. I used to take at least 20 supplements in pill form, but I have changed most of them now to Gomez, which makes life much easier. I have macular degeneration so I do not have any central vision however, I don’t let this stop me. I cook clean play golf read and do lots of research on longevity. I am thinking of trying Modifini as an experiment to see if I can focus more on learning to play the keyboard., has anyone tried that and if so, what are your thoughts?
Finding the correct dosage is crucial when taking modafinil. Because it has a half-life of ~15 hours, it will build up in your system and not return to baseline if you take it every day.
“The most commonly prescribed dosage for modafinil is 200 mg per day. This dosage is typically recommended for adults to improve wakefulness associated with conditions such as narcolepsy, obstructive sleep apnea, and shift work disorder.”
“Elderly people typically need a lower dose of modafinil. The search results indicated that for older patients, a lower initial dose should be considered with close monitoring, as their ability to eliminate the drug and its metabolites might be reduced.”
So, I started with 100 mg. I thought it was great, no afternoon drowsiness, more mental alertness, and focus. I don’t know if it has any effect on memory.
The first night, I had a harder time going to sleep at my regular time. The next day, I took another 100 mg dose and did not get a good night’s sleep.
To make a long story short, I titrated down to 25 mg. This reduces afternoon sleepiness and doesn’t affect my sleep.
I do not take it every day. I take it on days that I wake up with a bit of brain fog.
Modafinil is one of those drugs that, from anecdotal reports on Reddit, etc., has a wide range of effects on different people. I think it definetly is worth a try. Just be prepared to lose a little sleep if you take too much.
Thank you for your information. , I sleep well but get up around 4 am so by 2/3 pm I am tired , I will start with 25 mg, hope I can cut the tablets. I read on this site about Modafini giving great focus. I’m just trying it out to see how I feel and I won’t take it every day now I have read your response
Thank youn
If you are adventurous, take a 100 mg dose. If you have the real stuff, you will feel it.
In fact, my first 100 mg dose felt great, but then I had the issue of losing some sleep.
This is, subjectively, the most dose-sensitive medication that I take.
I am looking for something that has the same effects as modafinil without the side effect of losing sleep. It just needs to be something with a shorter half-life so that you can take it every day. Maybe some of the forum members have found something
Do people live a long time because they have these characteristics, or is there a common cause of (for example, being healthy) that causes both? It’s much easier to be independent, for example, if one is healthy.
… I’ve seen this more than once - it’s as if the orneriness keeps ‘em going, lol. But also, people who don’t just go along with the crowd for the sake of getting along, are willing to stand up for themselves, own their opinions and don’t take any guff might indicate high independence and functioning.