A major goal of the Rush Memory and Aging Project is to identify factors associated with neural reserve, i.e., factors that increase the ability of the brain to tolerate the pathology of AD without manifesting clinical signs of cognitive impairment [226]. In some respects, mixed pathology can be conceptualized in terms of neural reserve; that is, the presence of cerebrovascular disease and Lewy bodies reduce the ability of the brain to tolerate any given amount of AD pathology making it more likely that it will lead to cognitive impairment and dementia. Thus, the prevention of cerebrovascular disease and Lewy body disease will reduce the numbers of persons meeting clinical criteria for AD.
