A harmonized framework for studying exceptional cognitive aging in Latin America
Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: INTRODUCTION: Biological, genetic, and sociocultural factors underlying cognitive resilience and resistance to pathology remain unexplored in Latin America. The Life-Course Epidemiology of Aging, Resilience, and Neurodegeneration in Alzheimer's Disease (LEARN-AD) study and Latin American SuperAgers Study (LASAS) establish the first harmonized frameworks to characterize resilience and exceptional cognitive aging phenotypes in the region. METHODS: The shared protocol integrates cognitive, neurological, psychosocial, and genetic data. SuperAgers are deeply phenotyped, while successful cognitive agers are identified through harmonized criteria applied to existing cohorts, ensuring regional adaptation and international comparability. Centralized training and shared procedures ensure cross-site consistency. RESULTS: We define eligibility criteria and standardized assessments to classify successful cognitive agers and SuperAgers in Latin America and examine biological and psychosocial profiles supporting better-than-expected cognition. DISCUSSION: LEARN-AD and LASAS represent the first Latin American infrastructure for studying cognitive resilience, resistance, and exceptional cognitive aging, which will generate unprecedented regional databases and grow into larger networks, providing foundations for research, prevention strategies, and precision approaches to promote brain health in Latin America.
Source: Alzheimer s & Dementia
DOI: 10.1002/alz.71373
Authors: Lucia Crivelli, Rodrigo Fernandez, Nicolas Corvalán, Ana Luisa Sosa, Daisy Acosta, Giulia Agnoletti, Ezequiel Surace, Issac Acosta, Paulo Caramelli, David Aguillón, Javiera Leniz Martelli, Lissette Duque Peñailillo, Nilton Custodio, Ana Charamelo, Andres Damian, Juan J. Llibre‐Rodriguez, Ricardo Allegri, Mathew Prina, Emily Rogalski, Laura Ibañez, Jorge J. Llibre‐Guerra
Institutions: Fundación para la Lucha contra las Enfermedades Neurológicas de la Infancia, Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Instituto Nacional de Neurología y Neurocirugía, Universidad Nacional Pedro Henríquez Ureña, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Universidad de Antioquia, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Instituto Peruano de Neurociencias, Hospital Británico, Centro Uruguayo de Imagenología Molecular, University of Havana, University of the Coast, Newcastle University, University of Chicago, Washington University in St. Louis
Language: English
Subfield: Psychiatry and Mental health
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
Estimated APC paid: $4,200
OpenAlex ID: W7154389299