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This presentation will focus on potentially modifiable risk factors associated with a higher or lower risk of cognitive decline and Alzheimer’s dementia. First, two prospective community-based analytic cohort studies in which all participants are brain donors will be described: the Religious Orders Study and the Rush Memory and Aging Project. Next, it will discuss the continuum of normality to mild cognitive impairment to Alzheimer’s dementia, and highlight the importance of studying cognitive decline in order to understand the neurobiology of dementia. Third, the relation of mixed neurodegenerative and vascular disease pathologies to cognitive decline and Alzheimer’s dementia will be described, as well as the concept of neural reserve or resilience defined as cognitive decline not explained by known brain pathologies. Then, data will be presented that illustrate a range of experiential (e.g., cognitive, physical, and social activities), psychological (e.g., neuroticism, loneliness, purpose in life), and medical (e.g., diabetes, sleep, diet) factors associated with cognitive decline and discuss their associations with brain pathologies and/or resilience. Finally, a slate of recommendations on how our behaviors during life can lead to better cognitive health in old age will be provided.
- Describe the scientific value of studying cognitive decline to better understand the neurobiology of Alzheimer’s dementia.
- Explain how Alzheimer’s dementia results from a combination of multiple pathologies and resilience factors.
- List risk factors for Alzheimer’s dementia.
- Discuss advice for patients and other stakeholders regarding how to maintain cognitive health in old age.
Dr. Bennett Directs the Rush Alzheimer’s Disease Center (RADC) at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago. He is the Principal Investigator of the Rush Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center including the Religious Orders Study, and the Rush Memory and Aging Project, two prospective studies of risk factors for common diseases of aging in which all participants are organ donors. Dr. Bennett’s group have published on the relation of Alzheimer’s disease and related disorders with decision making, literacy, well-being, and a variety of psychological traits. Over the past decade, Dr. Bennett’s team generated an unprecedented multi-level omic platform in blood, brain, spinal cord and muscle tissue being mined by investigators worldwide to identify novel therapeutic targets for Alzheimer’s disease and related disorders. His group is now generating cell lines on autopsied study participants for ex vivo interrogation of potential targets. Dr. Bennett serves on numerous national and international advisory boards and editorial boards. He is currently a member of the National Advisory Council on Aging for the National Institutes of Health. Dr. Bennett was the recipient of the 2018 Potampkin Prize for Research on Picks, Alzheimer’s Disease, and Related Dementia. He has more than 900 peer-reviewed publications with more than 125,000 citations and an h index=166.