ABSTRACT

The functional integrity of the nervous system is well maintained in most elderly persons despite the morphologic and biochemical changes described in the previous chapter. This ability to conserve neurologic and intellectual competence into old age attests to the redundancy present in the system and its capability, under certain conditions, of increasing the number of neuronal and glial cells. As noted in Chapter 7, the recent demonstration of new cell growth in the brain of adult and old animals,

including humans, suggest that compensatory mechanisms and some regenerative capacity persist in the aging brain. Indeed, ongoing research affords some encouragement that neurodegenerative diseases may eventually be treatable or prevented altogether.