'Superagers' reveal how to stay sharp as you get older

Morry Kernerman, an complete fiddle prodigy, commits YouTube recordings of classic euphony to remembering, hikes in a hilly ravine with his son and volunteers to teach music in South America. 

As he prepares to celebrate his 101st birthday next week, Kernerman is convinced that music has played an outsized role in contributing to his long and active life.

The Toronto resident is what's known as a superager, someone 80 or up who retains the memory abilities of those in their 40s or 50s. The SuperAging Research Initiative is studying such participants across North America, trying to find out what helps them stay so sharp and avoid the physical and mental decline that typically comes with advanced age. 

In Canada, Angela Roberts of Western University in London, Ont., is leading the national initiative. Their goal is to enrol 500 superagers into the project across the U.S. And Canada, which Roberts says they're close to doing. 

Though the results are observational, Roberts and the international team have so far found three key factors that help people live independently and for longer: pursue meaningful hobbies, stay physically active and maintain social connections. 

The SuperAging Research Initiative that Roberts's research is part of is led by a team from University of Chicago. They've published a study suggesting the brains of 24 superagers diminish at a slower rate than the brains of 12 similarly aged people, based on MRI scans of brain areas associated with memory and focus, as well as post-mortem measures. 

"They are people who have beat the curve, so to speak, of what we expect in typical aging and their biology matches that," Roberts said. "In fact, their brains do not shrink back as quickly as what we see in typical populations."

The superagers don't seem to experience thinning of the cortex, which affects memory,  behaviour and how we're able to move, she said.

Most previous studies that have looked at people who age well have relied on self-reported questionnaires that might be given once a year, asking the individual to recall what they've done. 

What sets this research program apart is how they're collecting the data, following participants for decades with  blood tests, brain scans, physical activity monitors and word recall tests to start to answer how to live longer and well.

SuperAgers view themselves as contributing to society, which Roberts called one of the special ingredients helping them.

For Kerneman, his career as a violinist started at the age of 10 back in 1936. He recalls giving a debut recital to newspaper critics in Toronto later that year. He opened with a sonata by Italian composer Arcangelo Corelli followed by some Bach, Mozart and Beethoven.

The critics all gave good reviews, Kernerman said, qualified with three words: "considering his age."

Kernerman's talent with a beloved violin from 1700 opened the doors of orchestras in the U.S., Russia, Europe and two months as concertmaster in New Zealand. 

"Listening to their music, it tells me something," Kernerman said. "It fortifies me. It gives me purpose. It gives me understanding." 

Today, Kernerman said he no longer plays violin due to a sore shoulder. Instead, he enjoys listening to classical piano, Beethoven's late quartets in particular. Kernerman said he now watches performances on YouTube without advertisements to see the score as he listens. 

When there's a passage he wishes to master, he pauses, plays it back at a slower speed until he learns it and then resumes listening. "It's just wonderful, isn't it, modern technology?"

Kernerman shares his enthusiasm and knowledge of classical music with others. In recent years, he's travelled to Cartagena, Colombia, to offer music instruction to people in poor areas.

"We set up something to bring music to them, to teach the children how to play," he said. "I wasn't very good for teaching the children, but I teach their teachers."

Over 25 years, the superager research suggests they have fewer Alzheimer's disease-type changes in their brain, including larger sized entorhinal neurons thought to preserve new memory formation and denser von Economo neurons, which are linked to social intelligence and awareness.

Another factor many superagers have in common is exercise. The data gathered by activity trackers shows that a typical SuperAger, including the centenarians, gets 36 minutes a day of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity like walking, biking and swimming, Roberts said.

"The data have been incredible," Roberts said. "We've learned that yes, indeed, they do exercise more than their 80-year-old peers. In fact, the Canadian guidelines are for about 30 minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity a day for a 50 year old. Our superagers are getting every bit of that plus some."

In contrast, last year Statistics Canada reported just 46 per cent of adults met national guidelines for huffing and puffing and lighter intensity movements.

Remarkably, Kernerman said, the phrase that newspaper critics once used as a qualifier,  "for his age," is what he often now hears from people when they find out he still does exercise, including squats, planks and 20 minutes on an exercise bike every morning.

Beyond Kernerman's exercise routine, he enjoys walks in a nearby ravine when the weather isn't treacherous. Sometimes, he goes with one of his sons. On solo excursions, Kernerman watches animals dart on steep, untrodden paths while he listens to classical music.

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Kernerman said he regularly attends arts lectures and interacts with fellow superagers online. Like many of them, his schedule is packed with activities that scientists say demand attention, problem-solving and emotional health. 

Other researchers say measures of cognition can also improve with physical activity and stimulation compared with placebo, even for people with a family history of dementia.

"Those that are at higher risk of developing dementia also show improvement when we change their lifestyle," said Louis Bherer, a neuropsychologist and director of the preventive medicine and physical activity centre at the Montreal Heart Institute. He's put this to the test in randomized clinical trials, a rigorous study design for medical research. 

Bherer, who is not involved in the SuperAgers research, said it's hoped that by identifying the best combination of factors to reduce progression of subtle cognitive deficits, it will help people maintain cognitive health — optimal but not perfect conditions for your given age, education level and other traits. 

For Kernerman, sport and exercise weren't always part of life. As a child, he needed stitches after a baseball smacked him in the face and safety became a preoccupation that kept him away from sport.

And Roberts says that's not unusual for superagers. "Many of them would not have been lifetime athletes. They did not start being active until their 50s and 60s, so they give us some hope there."

As for how genetics contributes to brain health of superagers, it's not yet clear, Roberts said. Kernerman's said his father lived to 101 and died in 2001.

But longitudinal and twin studies also give hope that — whatever your genetics — there are things you can do to stave off dementia like pursue personally meaningful hobbies, stay physically active and socially connected.

"We've long since been saying, yeah, social interaction is important," Roberts said. "What superagers are teaching us is, it's not just important, it's really important in later age."

superagers are always looking forward, optimistically, she said. Kernerman is no exception. 

"I know things are tough," he concedes. "But still, the sunset is as beautiful as it ever was."

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