Black seniors stroll down memory lane aiming to stay sharp


              In this photo taken July 6, 2017, from left, Ron Young, Gahlena Easterly and Sharon Steen reminisce as they take a mile-long walk through North Portland, Ore. streets that once were full of black-owned homes and businesses. Researchers are studying whether jogging memories where they were made can help African-American seniors stay sharp and slow early memory loss. (AP Photos/Gillian Flaccus)
In this photo taken July 6, 2017, from left, Ron Young, Gahlena Easterly and Sharon Steen reminisce as they take a mile-long walk through North Portland, Ore. streets that once were full of black-owned homes and businesses. Researchers are studying whether jogging memories where they were made can help African-American seniors stay sharp and slow early memory loss. (AP Photos/Gillian Flaccus)

It's more than a stroll down memory lane.

Seniors are walking through neighborhoods once a center of Portland, Oregon's black community, combining exercise with "do you remember" conversations about their youth. The small but unique study is testing whether jogging memories where they were made can help older African-Americans stay mentally sharp and slow early memory loss.

The study is called SHARP - it stands for Sharing History through Active Reminiscence and Photo-Imagery - and uses old photos to prompt memories the seniors may have forgotten.

It's part of a new and growing effort to unravel troubling racial disparities in Alzheimer's and other dementias. Black seniors appear to have twice the risk of whites, and researchers are looking for ways to stop cognitive decline as they get older.

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