Brain deterioration doesn't have to happen

Interesting story today about a women who lived to be 115 but had perfectly good cognitive functioning. According to the article:

A series of neurological and psychological examinations were performed when the patient was 112 and 113 years old. The results were essentially normal, with no signs of dementia or problems with memory or attention. In general, her mental performance was above average for adults aged 60 to 75.

Further,

As planned, her body was donated to science when she died at age 115. At the time, she was the world's oldest woman. Examination after death found almost no evidence of atherosclerosis (narrowing of the arteries) anywhere in her body. The brain also showed very few abnormalities--the number of brain cells was similar to that expected in healthy people between 60 and 80 years old.

Of course, I'm sure genetics has some role in her resilience to cognitive and cardiac dysfunction.