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.

New review shows why antidepressants often fail in Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s depression

A Molecular Psychiatry review shows that depression in Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease may reflect disease-specific molecular, neurotransmitter, inflammatory, and circuit-level disruptions rather than standard depression biology alone. It argues that broad antidepressants often show limited efficacy in these patients and that future trials should use biomarkers, neuroimaging, and symptom profiling to guide targeted treatments.

7 Jul 2026

Molecular changes in the liver of space travelers provide clues about aging

What happens to the human body in space may help scientists create new anti-aging therapies.

7 Jul 2026

Study offers insight into how long-term inflammation may contribute to cognitive decline

The King's College London study, published in Nature Communications, offers insight into how long-term inflammation may contribute to cognitive decline in disorders such as Alzheimer's disease, aging, depression, and the lingering neurological effects of viral infections.

7 Jul 2026

Short sleep and poor sleep quality track with Parkinson’s risk

Using CHARLS data from 2011 to 2020, researchers found that sleep duration and self-reported sleep quality were associated with Parkinson’s disease risk in middle-aged and older Chinese adults. Short sleep was linked to higher PD risk, while age-specific patterns suggested a linear association in adults aged ≤60 years and a U-shaped relationship in those aged >60 years.

6 Jul 2026

Study identifies promising drug target to prevent neurodegenerative conditions

Parkinson's disease (PD) is the second most common form of neurodegenerative disease and afflicts more than ten million people worldwide. While current therapies address disease symptoms, they do not prevent the underlying neurodegeneration that drives the disease.

6 Jul 2026

Study explores the relationship between heart issues and cognitive function

New in JNeurosci, Xia Zhang, from the Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, led a study exploring the relationship between heart issues and cognitive function.

6 Jul 2026

Study provides new insights into biological processes linked to Huntington’s disease

A study conducted by the Sant Pau Research Institute (IR Sant Pau) and Hospital de Sant Pau has identified for the first time in living individuals a brain pattern related to the tau protein that changes according to the stage of Huntington's disease.

6 Jul 2026

BCG vaccine may remodel the human brain's immune environment

New research led by Mass General Brigham investigators suggests that the Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) vaccine - which is delivered through the skin to prevent tuberculosis - may remodel the human brain's immune environment, offering a potential biological explanation for previously observed associations between BCG vaccination and lower Alzheimer's disease risk.

6 Jul 2026

Blood circRNAs may predict Alzheimer’s before symptoms emerge

Blood-based circular RNAs showed strong potential for identifying biomarker-confirmed Alzheimer’s disease and predicting progression to symptomatic disease. When combined with pTau217, the circRNA model produced the strongest predictive performance, but larger prospective validation is still needed.

2 Jul 2026

Lung tumors hijack nervous system to drive cancer-related cachexia

According to the Cleveland Clinic, a quarter of cancer deaths can be attributed to one source: cachexia. Cachexia is a syndrome that accompanies underlying chronic illness and causes unwanted muscle and fat loss, reducing quality of life and sometimes even limiting treatment options.

2 Jul 2026

USC scientists target brain inflammation to prevent Alzheimer's disease

An interdisciplinary team at the USC Center for Personalized Brain Health (CPBH) is targeting a family of enzymes that can increase the risk of inflammation in the brains of people with the APOE4 gene variation-the most significant genetic risk factor for late-onset Alzheimer's-as a way to prevent the disease.

2 Jul 2026

Smart prodrug targets Alzheimer's disease using hydrogen peroxide signals

A substance that worsens dementia has become a "switch" that initiates treatment. KAIST researchers have developed a new therapeutic approach that uses hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂), a reactive oxygen species that damages cells and increases in the brains of patients with Alzheimer's disease, to activate a drug selectively in diseased brain tissue.

1 Jul 2026

Alzheimer’s disease biomarkers predict rapid cognitive decline in very old adults

Cognitive decline in very old adults has been considered for decades to be an almost inevitable consequence of aging.

1 Jul 2026

Real-time monitoring shows how daily habits influence cognitive performance in older adults

New research using smartwatches shows that older adults can accurately assess how well they are thinking in the moment. The study finds their self-ratings closely match actual cognitive performance.

1 Jul 2026

Sleep protects complex neural networks from drifting into states of permanent instability

Every animal that has ever been studied closely, from the fruit fly to the philosopher, surrenders each day to a state that looks, from the outside, like a small rehearsal for death.

1 Jul 2026

Blood biomarker may predict Alzheimer's progression differently in men

A blood test does not lie, exactly. It reports a number. The question raised by a new mini-review in Brain Medicine, which gathers and weighs a decade of scattered findings, is whether clinicians have been reading the same number in two different ways without realizing it.

30 Jun 2026