Neuropathology and cognitive performance in self-reported cognitively healthy centenarians

Abstract

[...]we find that while the centenarians in this cohort escaped or delayed cognitive impairment until extreme ages, their brains reveal varying levels of disease-associated neuropathological hallmarks, some of which associate with cognitive performance. [...]the presence and severity of hippocampal sclerosis correlated with a decreased ability to complete testing at follow up visits (fdr = 0.03) and non-significantly with a lower performance on the MMSE, both at baseline (fdr = 0.46), and last visit (fdr = 0.24). [...]several centenarians have exceptionally good brain function with a high NFT load (Braak stage IV) and NP accumulations (CERAD scores 1 or 2), as well as high Aβ load (Thal stages 3–5). The centenarians with PART in this cohort show variable performance on neuropsychological tests. [...]far, many neuropathological changes such as ARTAG, atherosclerosis, hippocampal sclerosis, pTDP-43, GVD and Lewy bodies, are reported to accumulate with age independently of cognitive decline [1, 23, 24, 30, 42], while the simultaneous occurrence of multiple pathologies in elderly cases has previously been associated with increased dementia risk [22].