AGING AND ALZHEIMERS-DISEASE - LESSONS FROM THE NUN STUDY

Sister Mary, the gold standard for the Nun Study, was a remarkable wom an who had high cognitive test scores before her death at 101 years of age. What is more remarkable is that she maintained this high status despite having abundant neurofibrillary tangles and senile plaques, th e classic lesions of Alzheimer's disease. Findings from Sister Mary an d all 678 participants in the Nun Study may provide unique clues about the etiology of aging and Alzheimer's disease, exemplify what is poss ible in old age, and show how the clinical expression of some diseases may be averted.