Overview and Findings from the Rush Memory and Aging Project

TLDR

The Memory and Aging Project is a longitudinal, epidemiologic clinical‑pathologic cohort study focused on cognitive and motor decline and Alzheimer’s disease risk. The manuscript summarizes the study design and methods of the Memory and Aging Project. The authors analyze relationships between motor function, risk factors, neuropathology, and cognitive outcomes, linking these to disability and mortality. The study reports associations between motor function, risk factors, neuropathology, and cognitive decline, and contextualizes these findings within aging research. Keywords: Dementia, Alzheimer's disease, cognitive function, epidemiology, clinical‑pathologic study, Catholic clergy, spinal cord, congestive heart failure.

Abstract

The Memory and Aging Project is a longitudinal, epidemiologic clinical-pathologic cohort study of common chronic conditions of aging with an emphasis on decline in cognitive and motor function and risk of Alzheimer’s disease (AD). In this manuscript, we first summarize the study design and methods. Then, we present data on: 1) the relation of motor function to cognition, disability, and death; 2) the relation of risk factors to cognitive and motor outcomes, disability and death; 3) the relation of neuropathologic indices to cognitive outcomes; 4) the relation of risk factors to neuropathologic indices; and 5) additional study findings. The findings are discussed and contextualized. Keywords: Dementia, Alzheimer's disease, cognitive function, epidemiology, clinical-pathologic study, Catholic clergy, spinal cord, congestive heart failure