Evidence map›Paper›PMID 39871070›Full record

ArticleGeroScience2025

Preserved brain youthfulness: longitudinal evidence of slower brain aging in superagers.

Chang-Hyun Park, Bori R Kim, Soo Mee Lim, Eun-Hee Kim, Jee Hyang Jeong, Geon Ha Kim

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in GeroScience, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
3citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

3 citing papers in PubMed.

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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors.

Chang-Hyun ParkDivision of Artificial Intelligence and Software, College of Artificial Intelligence, Ewha Womans University, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
Bori R KimDepartment of Neurology, Ewha Womans University Mokdong Hospital, Ewha Womans University College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
Soo Mee LimDepartment of Radiology, Ewha Womans University Seoul Hospital, Ewha Womans University College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
Eun-Hee KimDepartment of Radiology, Ewha Womans University Mokdong Hospital, Ewha Womans University College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
Jee Hyang JeongDepartment of Neurology, Ewha Womans University Seoul Hospital, Ewha Womans University College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
Geon Ha KimDepartment of Neurology, Ewha Womans University Mokdong Hospital, Ewha Womans University College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea. geonha@ewha.ac.kr.ORCID 0000-0001-5395-1924

Funding

Institute of Information & communications Technology Planning & Evaluation RS-2022-00155966Korea Dementia Research Project HU23C1234National Research Foundation of Korea 2021R1I1A1A01049599National Research Foundation of Korea grants RS-2022-00155966
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundSuperagers, older adults with exceptional cognitive abilities, show preserved brain structure compared to typical older adults. We investigated whether superagers have biologically younger brains based on their structural integrity.

methodsA cohort of 153 older adults (aged 61-93) was recruited, with 63 classified as superagers based on superior episodic memory and 90 as typical older adults, of whom 64 were followed up after two years. A deep learning model for brain age prediction, trained on 899 diverse-aged adults (aged 31-100), was adapted to the older adult cohort via transfer learning. Brain age gap (BAG), a metric based on brain structural patterns, defined as the difference between predicted and chronological age, and its annual rate of change were calculated to assess brain aging status and speed, respectively, and compared among subgroups.

resultsLower BAGs correlated with more favorable cognitive status in memory and general cognitive function. Superagers exhibited a lower BAG than typical older adults at both baseline and follow-up. Individuals who maintained or attained superager status at follow-up showed a slower annual rate of change in BAG compared to those who remained or became typical older adults.

conclusionsSuperaging brains manifested maintained neurobiological youthfulness in terms of a more youthful brain aging status and a reduced speed of brain aging. These findings suggest that cognitive resilience, and potentially broader functional resilience, exhibited by superagers during the aging process may be attributable to their younger brains.

Indexed as

AgingBrainCognitionAdultAgedAged, 80 and overFemaleHumansLongitudinal StudiesMagnetic Resonance ImagingMaleMemory, EpisodicMiddle AgedAgingBrain age gapCognitive resilienceSuperager

Identifiers

PMID39871070
PMCPMC12397054

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.