Giant “Super Neurons” Discovered in SuperAger Brains

INA – SOURCES
 
Post-mortem brains of SuperAgers reveal significantly larger neurons in memory region.
 
SuperAger neurons are even larger than those in individuals 20 to 30 years younger. These neurons do not have tau tangles that are a hallmark of Alzheimer’s.
 
Larger neurons in the brain’s memory region are a biological signature of SuperAging trajectory.
 
Neurons in the entorhinal cortex, an area of the brain responsible for memory, were significantly larger in SuperAgers compared to cognitively average peers and individuals with early-stage Alzheimer’s disease. They were even larger compared to individuals 20 to 30 years younger than SuperAgers — who are aged 80 years and older. This is all according to a new Northwestern Medicine study that was published on September 30 in The Journal of Neuroscience.
 
These SuperAger neurons did not harbor tau tangles, a signature hallmark of Alzheimer’s disease.
 
“The remarkable observation that SuperAgers showed larger neurons than their younger peers may imply that large cells were present from birth and are maintained structurally throughout their lives,” said lead author Tamar Gefen. She is an assistant professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. “We conclude that larger neurons are a biological signature of the SuperAging trajectory.”  
 
The study of SuperAgers with exceptional memory was the first research to demonstrate that these individuals carry a unique biological signature that comprises larger and healthier neurons in the entorhinal cortex that are relatively void of tau tangles (pathology).