Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) is the most common cause of dementia and currently there is no medication to stop or reverse the AD process highlighting the importance of early identification and prevention. Knowledge about the protective and risk factors of cognitive impairment, dementia and AD is important for early identification of high risk individuals. Cognitive decline is associated with aging, but the consistent finding is that there is a great heterogeneity in cognitive trajectories throughout the advanced age. It is not known why everyone with AD pathology does not have cognitive deficits and many without AD pathology are demented. A big challenge is that we know very little about cognitive and brain aging in the oldest-old (those who are 90 years or older), the fastest growing population segment in many countries.
Some people development dementias already in late middle age whereas others can maintain their cognitive functioning in their 90’s even in the presence of risk factors and accumulated brain pathology. Our aim is to study cognitive aging across the advanced age. We study protective and risk factors including their genetic and environmental underpinnings, and the role of cognitive reserve as a moderator of the effects of risk factors on cognition.
Some people development dementias already in late middle age whereas others can maintain their cognitive functioning in their 90’s even in the presence of risk factors and accumulated brain pathology. Our aim is to study cognitive aging across the advanced age. We study protective and risk factors including their genetic and environmental underpinnings, and the role of cognitive reserve as a moderator of the effects of risk factors on cognition.