Genetic edge helps super agers stay mentally sharp into their 80s

A Vanderbilt-led study of 18,080 participants finds that people over 80 with unusually strong memory (super agers) carry fewer APOE-ε4 Alzheimer’s risk genes and more APOE-ε2 protective variants than their peers. Super agers were 68% less likely to carry ε4 than 80+ individuals with Alzheimer's and 19% less likely than cognitively normal peers, while they were 28% more likely to carry ε2, and 103% more likely than those with Alzheimer’s dementia to have this protective variant. As the largest study of super agers to date, the findings suggest a genetic basis for exceptional cognitive aging and may guide future dementia resilience research.