People who have superior language skills early in life may be less likely to develop Alzheimer's disease decades later, despite having the hallmark signs of the disease, according to research published in the July 9, 2009, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. "A puzzling feature of Alzheimer's disease is how it affects people differently," said study author Juan C. Troncoso, MD, with Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore.