While many older people have memory problems, there are a few elderly people with the mental capabilities of far younger people.
Recent research has made a discovery on what makes super-agers different than most other elderly people in their memory capabilities, according to FOX News in "Super-agers: The unique traits of older adults with memories sharp as a tack."
Almost everyone suffers from a loss of memory capability as they grow older. However, a few people are lucky enough to retain the memory capabilities of people in their 50s well into their 80s.
Previous research had shown that super-agers have bigger brains than their peers. However, the reason for that was not known. It could be that they always had bigger brains than average or it could be that they had average-sized brains that deteriorated at a reduced rate.
The latest research has shown that it is the latter.
This is an important breakthrough.
Super-agers' brains could deteriorate more slowly for many reasons. There could be psychological, biological or social causes.
Scientists are working to discover the cause.
Reference: FOX News (April 5, 2017) "Super-agers: The unique traits of older adults with memories sharp as a tack."