Aging and Brain Research

Retirement is no longer about slowing down—it's about shifting gears.  Gone are the days of working a 9-to-5 job for four decades, followed by a quiet life of leisure. Today’s retirees are embracing flexible work arrangements, phased retirements, and mini-retirements—all while seeking communities that support an active, engaged, and financially sustainable lifestyle. But there’s a problem: housing.   A severe shortage of homes in desirable areas, coupled with soaring prices, is forcing retirees into difficult choices. The intersection of housing policy and retirement trends is reshaping how and where people age, creating both challenges and opportunities. Research shows that retirees in well-designed active lifestyle communities report higher satisfaction levels - 93% compared to the 73% average [1]. These communities prioritize connection, wellness, and engagement, offering fitness centers, social clubs, and easy access to everyday conveniences. But despite their appeal,...

Ageing is an intricate journey marked by the ebb and flow of physical and cognitive capacities. As we advance in years, our bodies and minds undergo transformations, both subtle and profound. However, the ageing process is not uniform across individuals, and some extraordinary people manage to defy the odds, living well into their 90s and beyond. These individuals, known as nonagenarians and centenarians, offer a unique window into the mysteries of healthy aging. Sardinia's Blue Zone is renowned for its extreme longevity and unique characteristics—historical, geographic, social, linguistic, and nutritional. Within this captivating context, authors of a new study administered the Cognitive Reserve Index questionnaire (CRIq) and the short cognitive Esame Neuropsicologico Breve-2 (ENB-2) to 67 participants, all aged between 90 and 105 years old.  The study's findings provide compelling evidence of the positive relationship between cognitive reserve and cognitive performance, even...

Chronological age, measured from the time of birth, has long been a standard metric in healthcare and aging research. However, it is an imperfect measure, lacking the nuanced information provided by biological age, which considers various genetic and environmental factors. Biological age estimates are generated through mathematical models that use biomarkers as predictors and chronological age as the output. The difference between biological and chronological age—known as the “age gap”—serves as a complementary indicator of aging, offering additional insights beyond the limitations of chronological age alone. The utility of the "age gap" becomes evident when examining its correlation with specific exposures, like lifestyle choices or pre-existing health conditions. For instance, in brain age estimation, neuroimaging biomarkers are used as predictors. The "brain age gap" between model-predicted age and chronological age serves as an avenue to study the impact of gene...

Games can be a valuable part of mental well-being at any age. A new study looked at how playing different types of video games affects people's ability to remember things and ignore distractions. The study included 209 young adults (18–30 years old) and 181 older adults (60–81 years old). Participants were asked about their gaming habits and then given a memory task. Here's what the researchers found: Young adults who mainly played strategy and action games were better at remembering things than non-players. But when looking more closely, only the strategy part of the games helped improve memory and the ability to ignore distractions. Action games didn't have the same effect.  Playing puzzle games helped older adults remember things just as well as younger adults. This suggests that puzzle games might be a useful way to keep the mind sharp for older people. This study provides an interesting insight into how video games, often seen as entertainment, can have practical bene...

Age was found to be the most important characteristic associated with the risk of post-booster COVID-19 death  (panel A)  with an HR of 31.3 (95% CI, 26.1-37.6) for an 80-year-old individual compared with a 50-year-old.   Most of the risk groups were associated with an increased HR of post booster breakthrough death, except for congenital heart disease, asthma, and prior fracture. We note that asthma was identified as a risk factor after two doses, while age was not - likely because antibody response studies were focusing on younger cohorts.   This study population included those aged 18 to 100 years living in England who had completed both doses of their primary vaccination schedule and had received their mRNA booster 14 days or more prior to December 31, 2021. REFERENCES Nafilyan V, Ward IL, Robertson C, Sheikh A, National Core Studies—Immunology Breakthrough Consortium. Evaluation of Risk Factors for Postbooster Omicron COVID-19 Deaths in England....