Enrollment and Scientific Progress of the Multisite SuperAging Research Initiative

Abstract

AbstractBackgroundThe SuperAging Research Initiative is a multisite consortium focused on identifying factors promoting extraordinary cognitive aging. The designation of SuperAger is reserved for individuals age 80+ who have episodic memory capacity that would be considered at least average for those 2‐3 decades younger. The presence of such outliers raises questions of fundamental importance to the neurobiology of brain aging, resilience, resistance, and avoidance of cognitive decline caused by Alzheimer’s disease. The original study of SuperAgers emerged at Northwestern and helped establish the phenotype. The SuperAging Research Initiative was established in 2021 and is focused on increasing minority representation and expanding deep phenotyping of this unique population.MethodsHarmonized data collection has been initiated across the five sites including behavioral, health, biologic, genetic, environmental, socioeconomic, psychosocial, neuroanatomic, and neuropathologic factors. Here we summarize the initial recruitment progress and baseline characteristics of the current cohort.ResultsWe will present the organizational structure, progress, and baseline characteristics of the cohort to date. The SuperAging Research Initiative includes three Cores (Administrative/Biostatistics, Clinical/Imaging, and Biospecimen/Neuropathology) and two Research Projects. Enrollment (target, n = 500) has commenced across four U.S. Sites located in Illinois, Wisconsin, Michigan, and Georgia, and a Canadian Site in Southwest Ontario, with a focus on enrollment of Black SuperAgers and Cognitively Average Elderly Controls with similar demographics. Project 1 uses state‐of‐the‐art wearable technology to obtain quantitative measurements of daily life including, sleep, physical activity, autonomic responsivity, and social engagement to determine whether SuperAgers have relatively preserved physiologic and behavioral ‘complexity’ compared to Controls. Project 2 focuses on transcriptomic, genetic, and protein profiling to examine central and peripheral immune and inflammatory system parameters of SuperAgers.ConclusionsBy identifying factors contributing to superior memory performance in old age, outcomes may help isolate modifiable factors that promote healthspan and perhaps also prevent age‐related brain diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease.