Alzheimer's Disease News and Research

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Alzheimer's disease (AD) is an irreversible, progressive brain disease that slowly destroys memory and thinking skills and, eventually, the ability to carry out the simplest tasks of daily living. In most people with AD, symptoms first appear after age 60. AD is the most common cause of dementia among older people, but it is not a normal part of aging. Dementia refers to a decline in cognitive function that interferes with daily life and activities. AD starts in a region of the brain that affects recent memory, then gradually spreads to other parts of the brain. Although treatment can slow the progression of AD and help manage its symptoms in some people, currently there is no cure for this devastating disease.

Menopause may raise women’s Alzheimer risk earlier than doctors once thought

This review argues that women’s higher Alzheimer disease risk may be shaped in part by midlife neuroendocrine aging, especially the menopause transition, rather than by longevity alone. It highlights early menopause, bilateral oophorectomy, vasomotor symptoms, and midlife cognitive changes as underinvestigated but potentially important risk markers, while calling for sex-specific, biomarker-driven prevention strategies.

18 Mar 2026

New data hub aims to advance alternatives to animal testing

A research team at NYU Langone Health and Sage Bionetworks has been awarded a $25 million grant to establish the data hub and coordinating center for the National Institutes of Health's Complement-Animal Research in Experimentation (Complement-ARIE) program.

18 Mar 2026

New data platform transforms prediction and understanding of Alzheimer’s disease

A powerful new real-world data platform could transform how scientists predict and understand Alzheimer's disease and Alzheimer's disease related dementias (AD/ADRD), reports a new study at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health and collaborators at the Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons, the School of Nursing as well as the University of Miami and University of Chicago.

18 Mar 2026

Newly identified protein regulates lysosome positioning and cellular metabolism

Lysosomes are the control centers for the metabolism of cells and tissues, including the brain. They break down defective proteins and other macromolecules into their basic building blocks.

18 Mar 2026

Psychiatrists’ use of biomarkers could open a new window into mental health diagnoses

Amanda Miller was 30 and pregnant with her second child in Hershey, Pennsylvania, when she developed depression.

17 Mar 2026

Alcohol consumption in early adulthood linked to middle age cognitive decline

It's well known that alcohol consumption is an age-old method for coping with stress. But surprising? research led by the University of Massachusetts Amherst found that, when such self-medication begins in early adulthood, negative cognitive effects start to show up in middle-age-even after long periods of total abstinence.

16 Mar 2026

Study suggests new way to diagnose combined Alzheimer’s and FTLD

People with Alzheimer's disease often have other neurodegenerative conditions as well, including a less-understood disorder called frontotemporal lobar degeneration (FTLD).

16 Mar 2026

In switching to original medicare, beware of Medigap plan refusals

It's open enrollment season for Medicare Advantage, when people currently enrolled in private managed-care plans can either sign up for a new one or switch to original Medicare through March 31.

16 Mar 2026

Stress hormones disrupt the internal GPS system of the brain

Persons under stress may have a harder time spatially orienting themselves. Researchers in Bochum have discovered why.

13 Mar 2026

Study reveals racial differences in early Alzheimer's brain changes

A team of researchers at the USC Mark and Mary Stevens Neuroimaging and Informatics Institute (Stevens INI) at the Keck School of Medicine of USC has identified important differences in how early Alzheimer's disease-related brain changes appear across racial and ethnic groups, underscoring the need for more inclusive approaches to studying and diagnosing the disease.

12 Mar 2026

MUSC’s new manual for navigating dementia

For an estimated 11% of Americans over age 65 who have dementia and the over 11 million unpaid caregivers supporting them, there is no instruction manual for navigating life after diagnosis. A team of College of Nursing researchers at the Medical University of South Carolina is working to fill that gap.

12 Mar 2026

Blood marker linked to Alzheimer’s also found in systemic amyloidosis

A certain blood protein regarded as an early indicator of Alzheimer's disease also appears to play a role in other disorders.

11 Mar 2026

Study links p-tau217 levels to long-term dementia risk in women

Researchers from the University of California San Diego have found that a novel blood-based biomarker can predict a woman's risk of developing dementia as many as 25 years before symptoms appear.

10 Mar 2026

Immune cells found to actively promote plaque formation in Alzheimer’s disease

A new study led by researchers from VIB and KU Leuven shows that immune cells called microglia can actively promote the formation of plaques in Alzheimer's disease, challenging the long-standing view that these cells serve only as defenders against plaque buildup.

10 Mar 2026

Researchers develop DNA aptamer to detect Alzheimer's biomarkers

With aging populations on the rise, the need for better tools to diagnose and monitor Alzheimer's disease (AD), the most common cause of dementia, has never been more urgent.

10 Mar 2026

Unmasking the hyperactive circuitry of early Alzheimer’s

Neuroscientists at King's College London have pinpointed a mechanism behind the increased neural connectivity observed in the very early stages of Alzheimer's disease.

9 Mar 2026

Redefining the "aging brain" through diverse data

Age is more than just one number. While neuroscientists used to think of cognitive aging as a single trendline, they now realize that vast individual differences require a more predictive and personalized approach. As they uncover more factors that affect cognition over time, they are realizing that modeling the aging brain requires more diverse data than traditionally captured.

9 Mar 2026

Modified psilocybin compounds may treat brain disorders with fewer hallucinations

Psilocybin - the psychoactive compound in "magic mushrooms" - is gaining scientific attention for its potential in treating neuropsychiatric conditions including depression, anxiety, substance use disorders and certain neurodegenerative diseases.

6 Mar 2026

Tubulin prevents toxic protein clumps linked to neurodegeneration

Researchers at Baylor College of Medicine have discovered a potential new strategy to fight back against Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases, conditions that are linked to the toxic accumulation of Tau and alpha synuclein protein clumps in the brain.

6 Mar 2026

Single dose of CAR-astrocyte therapy halves amyloid levels in mice brains

The new generation of Alzheimer's disease drugs - the first proven to change the course of the disease - typically extend independent living for patients by 10 months.

6 Mar 2026