Used a population-based sample (Georgia Centenarian Study, GCS), to determine proportions of centenarians reaching 100 years as (1) survivors (43%) of chronic diseases first experienced between 0–80 years of age, (2) delayers (36%) with chronic diseases first experienced between 80–98 years of age, or (3) escapers (17%) with chronic diseases only at 98 years of age or older. Diseases fall into two morbidity profiles of 11 chronic diseases; one including cardiovascular disease, cancer, anemia, and osteoporosis, and another including dementia. Centenarians at risk for cancer in their lifetime tended to be escapers (73%), while those at risk for cardiovascular disease tended to be survivors (24%), delayers (39%), or escapers (32%). Approximately half (43%) of the centenarians did not experience dementia. Psychiatric disorders were positively associated with dementia, but prevalence of depression, anxiety, and psychoses did not differ significantly between centenarians and an octogenarian control group. However, centenarians were higher on the Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS) than octogenarians. Consistent with our model of developmental adaptation in aging, distal life events contribute to predicting survivorship outcome in which health status as survivor, delayer, or escaper appears as adaptation variables late in life.

Jonathan Arnold

Jianliang Dai

Lusine Nahapetyan

Ankit Arte

Mary Ann Johnson

Dorothy Hausman

Willard L. Rodgers

Robert Hensley

Peter Martin

Maurice MacDonald

Adam Davey

Ilene C. Siegler

S. Michal Jazwinski

Leonard W. Poon

Predicting Successful Aging in a Population-Based Sample of Georgia Centenarians

Nonagenarians and centenarians represent a quickly growing age group worldwide. In parallel, the prevalence of dementia increases substantially, but how to define dementia in this oldest-old age segment remains unclear. Although the idea that the risk of Alzheimer&#39;s disease (AD) decreases after age 90 has now been questioned, the oldest-old still represent a population relatively resistant to degenerative brain processes. 
Brain aging is characterised by the formation of neurofibrillary tangles (NFTs) and senile plaques (SPs) as well as neuronal and synaptic loss in both cognitively intact individuals and patients with AD. In nondemented cases NFTs are usually restricted to the hippocampal formation, whereas the progressive involvement of the association areas in the temporal neocortex parallels the development of overt clinical signs of dementia. In contrast, there is little correlation between the quantitative distribution of SP and AD severity. 
The pattern of lesion distribution and neuronal loss changes in extreme aging relative to the younger-old. In contrast to younger cases where dementia is mainly related to severe NFT formation within adjacent components of the medial and inferior aspects of the temporal cortex, oldest-old individuals display a preferential involvement of the anterior part of the CA1 field of the hippocampus whereas the inferior temporal and frontal association areas are relatively spared. This pattern suggests that both the extent of NFT development in the hippocampus as well as a displacement of subregional NFT distribution within the Cornu ammonis (CA) fields may be key determinants of dementia in the very old. Cortical association areas are relatively preserved. The progression of NFT formation across increasing cognitive impairment was significantly slower in nonagenarians and centenarians compared to younger cases in the CA1 field and entorhinal cortex. The total amount of amyloid and the neuronal loss in these regions were also significantly lower than those reported in younger AD cases. Overall, there is evidence that pathological substrates of cognitive deterioration in the oldest-old are different from those observed in the younger-old. Microvascular parameters such as mean capillary diameters may be key factors to consider for the prediction of cognitive decline in the oldest-old. Neuropathological particularities of the oldest-old may be related to &#8220;longevity-enabling&#8221; genes although little or nothing is known in this promising field of future research.

A. von Gunten

K. Ebbing

A. Imhof

P. Giannakopoulos

E. K&#246;vari

Brain Aging in the Oldest-Old

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Current Gerontology and Geriatrics Research publishes research based on molecular, cellular, organismal aspects of gerontological research and in diagnosis, treatment, evaluation and educational aspects of geriatrics research.

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Current Gerontology and Geriatrics Research publishes research based on molecular, cellular, organismal aspects of gerontological research and in diagnosis, treatment, evaluation and educational aspects of geriatrics research.

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Current Gerontology and Geriatrics Research

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Okinawa International University, 2-6-1 Ginowan, Ginowan City, Japan

This Issue is now open for submissions.
Papers are published upon acceptance, regardless of the Special Issue publication date.

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The aim of this special issue is to overview the last year's progress in centenarian researchin relation to how it could contribute to our understanding of the aging process. List of the topics to be covered includes:<ul class="li_special"><li>Centenarians and physiological changes</li><li>Centenarians and immunology</li><li>Genetics of centenarians</li><li>Epidemiology of centenarians</li><li>Cancer and centenarians</li><li>Nutritional habits of centenarians</li><li>Inflamaging, centenarians, and so forth.</li></ul>Before submission authors should carefully read over the journal's Author Guidelines, which are located at <a href="http://www.hindawi.com/journals/cggr/guidelines/">http://www.hindawi.com/journals/cggr/guidelines/</a>. Prospective authors should submit an electronic copy of their complete manuscript through the journal Manuscript Tracking System at <a href="http://mts.hindawi.com/">http://mts.hindawi.com/</a> according to the following timetable:

Current Gerontology and Geriatrics Research

Centenarian Studies: Important Contributors to our Understanding of the Aging Process and Longevity

Centenarian Studies: Important Contributors to our Understanding of the Aging Process and Longevity

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Predicting Successful Aging in a Population-Based Sample of Georgia Centenarians

Brain Aging in the Oldest-Old