2021 Science of Aging Webinar Series 6 - Malignant Brain Aging: The Formidable Link to Neurodegeneration

Suzanne de la Monte, MD, MPH, discusses the classic features of neurodegeneration and how identifying ways to reverse the switch is one of the over-arching goals of brain science directed toward prevention and treatment of neurodegenerative diseases. Aging is a natural biological process that impacts vitality and function of cells, tissues, organs, systems, and the entire organism. Benign brain aging is associated with slower processing, reduced agility and resilience, and greater requirement for rest. For the most part, humans tolerate such declines in youthfulness because their capacity to enjoy life, engage in social discourse, remain physically active, and utilize perceptive and analytical thought processes are largely preserved. Unfortunately, a significant subset of the population experiences a malignant form of brain aging. The entire process accelerates and progresses to an extreme stage marked by losses in neuronal cell number, function, connectivity, and plasticity. This translates to impairments in thinking and mentation, analytical skills, capacity for normal social interactions, and ability to enjoy life and self-care. These are classical features of neurodegeneration. The pivotal factors that cause the brain to derail from a benign to malignant course of aging are unknown. Identifying ways to reverse the switch is one of the over-arching goals of brain science directed toward prevention and treatment of neurodegenerative diseases.