MENTAL STATUS EXAMINATION OF AN EXCEPTIONAL CASE OF LONGEVITY - J-C AGED 118 YEARS

Background. The mental status examination of an extreme case of longev ity, J. C., aged 118 years and 9 months, is documented in order to fur ther knowledge regarding profiles of morbidity in the extremely elderl y. J. C. is presently considered to have the longest authenticated lif e-span in the history of the human species. Method. Neuropsychological tests were improvised taking into account the subject's severe percep tual deficits. The examination was carried out over a six-month period . A CT scan was also conducted. Results. The subject's performance on tests of verbal memory and language fluency is comparable to that of p ersons with the same level of education in their eighties and nineties . Frontal lobe functions are relatively spared and there is no evidenc e of depressive symptomatology or other functional illness. Cognitive functioning was found to slightly improve over a six-month period. Con clusions. The subject shows no evidence of progressive neurological di sease. A high initial level of intellectual ability may have constitut ed a protective factor.