Takamitsu Watanabe, Ph.D., M.D. | The University of Tokyo; Akin Ojagbemi, Ph.D. | University of Ibadan; Carolyn Parsey, Ph.D. | University of Washington
Competition Sponsor: Japan Agency for Medical Research and Development
Awardee Year: 2020
Population aging has been increasing the global prevalence of dementia, whose impacts are overwhelming for the person, their families, caregivers and society at large. Although substantial efforts have been dedicated to understanding the risk factors for the disease, less research has focused on ‘Cognitively resilient’ individuals, who, despite having demonstrable risk for cognitive decline, defy the odds of dementia and lived to be cognitively healthy in late life. Also, such a limited number of prior studies were conducted in high-income countries, and no research has been found for the cases in developing countries. No information is available about factors that are facilitatory to cognitive resilience across different socio-economic, cultural and geographical contexts and those that are specific to certain populations. To address this overlooked but critical problem, we aim at identifying common modifiable factors for cognitive resilience in diverse populations, which can be the basis of future preventive interventions for cognitive decline and dementia that are applicable globally.
To learn more about this proposal email healthylongevity@nas.edu.