The University of Minnesota studies the secrets of SuperAgers

Instead of studying why some people age faster, a University of Minnesota researcher was awarded $2.2 million to understand why others stay young longer.

Brain activity appears different in so-called “SuperAgers,” people 75 and older without cognitive decline who walk and run as easily as people in their 40s, said Jacqueline Palmer, the University physiotherapist who is leading the research. Understanding their aging process could pave the way for therapies and strategies to improve the quality of life of other older adults in later years.

“Most research on brain aging is aimed at understanding what goes wrong. Why do people develop diseases? … We’re flipping the script,” she said.

The University announced Wednesday that Palmer received a New Innovator Grant from the National Institutes of Health’s High Risk, High Reward Research Program. Such federal grants support ideas that are not yet supported by extensive research findings but have the potential to reshape health care.

Six other U researchers have received these grants over the past two decades, using the funding to launch studies of 3D-printed bionic organs, HIV vaccines and other untested ideas.

Palmer’s proposal came from previous studies of stroke and cognitive decline, which recruited for comparison healthy older adults who showed remarkable resilience to the usual course of aging.

“They go rafting on the weekends and continue to ride bikes on the road,” she said.

The researchers expected these people to have similar brain activity to younger people, but were surprised to find that their neurological activity was distinct. Palmer said there was evidence of “neuroplasticity, or brain rewiring,” in response to the usual pressures of aging.