I have felt a little bit anxious about my own odds of having Alzheimer’s disease. I have an abundance of risk factors: a family history of dementia, being a care-giver for a person with dementia, and having a hearing loss. Those are all contributing factors for Alzheimer’s, and that doesn’t bode well for me.

My hopes were lifted when I read an article entitled “The Secrets of ‘Cognitive Super-Agers,’” by Jane E. Brody, Personal Health columnist for the New York Times. Here’s the best part: “new data from the Netherlands indicate that those who achieve that milestone (age 100) with their mental facilities intact are likely to remain so for their remaining years, even if their brains are riddled with the plaques and tangles that are the hallmark of Alzheimer’s disease.” (italics, hers)

Some people have resistance to Alzheimer’s, which, according to Dr. Thomas T. Peris, may be the result of genetics, lifestyle, or “protective biological mechanisms that slow brain aging and prevent clinical illness.”

Others have resilience. Those people may have normal cognitive abilities “even though their brains may have damage typical of Alzheimer’s disease.” According the to Dutch study, people with cognitive resilience are “able to accumulate higher levels of brain damage before clinical symptoms appear.”

According to Yaakov Stern, director of cognitive neuroscience at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, resilient individuals have “what researchers call a cognitive reserve that enables them to cope better with pathological brain changes.” Super-agers share in common higher and higher quality of education. They choose careers that deal with complex facts and data, consume a Mediterranean-style diet, engage in leisure activities, socialize with other people , and exercise regularly.

It may be too late for me to start a career other than teaching college English, which may not count as complex. Even so, there are things that I can do to mitigate my risk factors. Wearing hearing-aids mitigates the effects of hearing loss, keeping me more grounded in and aware of my environment. I have challenged myself by taking up painting on a more regular basis. It assists my eye-sight, making me look at things more carefully. I have started regular practice of piano, something that I hadn’t done for at least 30 years. I walk most mornings and evenings. I also have an active social life and strong friendships.

I know the toll care-giving can take on the care-giver. I have a friend who has only recently placed her husband into a dementia care facility. She has ruined her own health in the process of caring for him, and is only now beginning to give herself the care that she needs. I hope that I am doing enough for my health to continue to be strong and well while I continue to take care of my husband. We are not nearly to the point of considering institutionalized care. We may never reach that stage. If we do, I want to be strong enough to continue to live well.