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.

Can Alzheimer's genes predict who becomes a SuperAger?

A study on SuperAgers shows exceptional memory isn't solely due to lower Alzheimer's genetic risk, highlighting the role of biological and lifestyle factors.

28 Jul 2026

Blood tests improve Alzheimer's detection in Down syndrome patients

New blood tests that detect early changes associated with Alzheimer's disease are making diagnosis easier and accessible to more patients, since they are less invasive than the brain scans or spinal taps typically used for a definitive diagnosis.

27 Jul 2026

Signals traveling from the gut through the vagus nerve help form memories

When French writer Marcel Proust famously recalled his childhood from the taste of a Madeline cookie, his stomach may have done some of the work.

27 Jul 2026

UC Davis researcher receives grant to study perceived cognitive aging

University of California, Davis Professor of Neurology Sarah Tomaszewski Farias has been awarded a $3.3 million five-year grant from The National Institute on Aging to study if cultural differences affect how people perceive cognitive changes as they age.

27 Jul 2026

Amyloid beta misfolding predicts Alzheimer's years before symptoms appear

Widely used Alzheimer’s biomarker P-tau 217 reliably detects the disease only at the clinical stage. The protein misfolding of amyloid beta indicates an increased risk years earlier.

27 Jul 2026

Time-restricted eating may help lower dementia risk in older women

Results from a small clinical trial suggest it may be possible to reduce your risk of dementia by eating during fewer hours of the day.

26 Jul 2026

Researchers link genome folding to gene activity and brain tissue organization in Alzheimer's

Researchers from Carnegie Mellon University's School of Computer Science, the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and the University of Washington shed new light on Alzheimer's disease that could point to new directions for treatment.

23 Jul 2026

SuperAgers retain exceptional memory through mechanisms beyond genetics

Many people assume that some memory decline is an inevitable consequence of getting older. But a select group of older adults, known as SuperAgers, reach their 80s and 90s while retaining memory performance as good as or better than people in their 50s and 60s.

22 Jul 2026

UWM neuroscientist explores how estrogens regulate memory and brain function

Karyn Frick likes to think big. In college, she spent the summer after her junior year studying the neurobiology of memory in a lab at Johns Hopkins University. For hours at a time, Frick would watch rats scurry through mazes, entranced by their behavior.

22 Jul 2026

Dementia addiction and psychiatric disorders show distinct patterns of accelerated brain aging

People with dementia, mild cognitive impairment, alcohol addiction, or psychiatric disorders such as schizophrenia show increased brain aging, each in specific patterns within the brain, according to a study published July 21st in the open access journal PLOS Medicine by Shile Qi from the Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, China, and colleagues.

21 Jul 2026

Thymus hormone identified as key player in reversing age-related inflammation

Chronic, low-grade inflammation in the body-a phenomenon known as "inflammaging" because it increases with age-has been linked to many of today's leading causes of illness and death, including cancer, heart disease, metabolic conditions and neurodegenerative diseases.

21 Jul 2026

Hippocampal damage linked to memory loss and apathy

People with autoimmune limbic encephalitis experience memory loss associated with damage to their hippocampus.

20 Jul 2026

Study reveals why rare neurological disease damages specific brain regions

Many neurological diseases damage specific parts of the brain, even though the harmful protein involved is present throughout the brain.

20 Jul 2026

Musical Museum helps reduce isolation among dementia patients

Growing evidence suggests lifelong learning can help combat cognitive decline, but many older adults with dementia avoid traditional classes for fear of not keeping up.

20 Jul 2026

Frequent TV watching may harm long-term brain health

"Turn off that TV, it'll rot your brain!" has been a household refrain for decades. While "rot" might be too strong a term, researchers are finding that the overall sentiment could have some merit.

17 Jul 2026

Tau buildup in progressive supranuclear palsy alters brain networks linked to thinking and behavior

Researchers at Japan's National Institutes for Quantum Science and Technology (QST) have found that tau buildup in progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP) may affect brain networks involved in thinking and behavior.

17 Jul 2026

SORLA protein may protect the brain from toxic tau tangles

Alzheimer's disease and many other forms of neurodegeneration share a common culprit. In these diseases, tau proteins that normally stabilize neuronal microtubule filaments within our nervous system networks instead form noxious knots and gradually disrupt the circuits they would otherwise preserve.

17 Jul 2026

A wife’s account reveals the hidden burden of young-onset Alzheimer’s caregiving

Karina Acton Reid recounts caring for her husband with young-onset Alzheimer’s disease presenting as posterior cortical atrophy while raising two young children. Her perspective shows how visual disorientation, diagnostic delays, changing family roles, and inadequate age-appropriate support affect the entire household.

16 Jul 2026

Blood p-tau217 levels signal cognitive impairment risk years before symptoms emerge

Higher baseline plasma p-tau217 was associated with greater 5- and 10-year risks of cognitive impairment and faster cognitive decline among 2,684 cognitively unimpaired adults. Very high levels corresponded to an estimated 38% risk at five years, but selected cohorts and limited long-term data mean routine screening and individualized prediction remain premature.

16 Jul 2026

Researchers identify new genetic pathway driving epilepsy and seizures

Researchers have uncovered a novel biological pathway that can lead to seizures when disrupted. The findings also provide a new approach to improve the diagnosis of epilepsy, for which a genetic cause cannot be found in about 50 % of individuals with the condition

16 Jul 2026