Genomics Research Institute Has Tested Whether People Over 80 With Exceptional Memory, Known As Superagers, Simply Inherited a Lower Genetic

The findings, published from one of the largest prospective cohorts of SuperAgers used to date, suggest that is not the case. The researchers analyzed 142 SuperAgers and 89 older adults with average cognitive performance, recruited from five centers in the United States and Canada. They extracted DNA from blood samples and first examined APOE, the gene containing the ε4 allele, one of the most common genetic factors associated with Alzheimer's risk.

They then calculated three polygenic risk scores, which combine thousands of variants across the genome to estimate inherited predisposition. The expectation was logical: if SuperAgers maintain exceptional memory simply because they inherited less predisposition to Alzheimer's, their genetic profiles should show clearly lower risk than other older adults. However, that did not happen.

The researchers could not distinguish SuperAgers from average-memory adults using APOE or the polygenic risk scores. They also found no evidence that rare genetic variants considered protective against the disease were more frequent among those with extraordinary memory. The study does not prove genes have no importance in cognitive aging.

It means something more specific: the genetic risk factors for Alzheimer's known and measurable today are not enough to explain the SuperAger phenomenon. For neurologist Emily Rogalski, who has studied these individuals for nearly two decades, the difference forces a change in question. Avoiding risk factors is not necessarily the same as possessing protective mechanisms.

"For many years, aging research has focused on identifying factors that increase disease risk, said co-lead author Ignazio S. Piras in the university's official announcement. "These studies are vitally important, but the absence of risk factors does not necessarily imply that a person possesses the protective factors that favor exceptional brain health. This study helps demonstrate that distinction.

Future work will seek those protections in a broader field: brain imaging, blood biomarkers, the immune system, sleep, physical activity, social relationships, environment, and neuropathological characteristics. The result leaves a fascinating paradox: the youthful memory of SuperAgers is real and measurable, but it is not simply written in the most obvious genetic markers. For now, the secret of remembering like a 50-year-old when over 80 remains hidden somewhere between the brain, the body, experience, and environment. SuperAgers are defined as adults aged 80 or older whose episodic memory functions at the level of average people aged 50 to 60.