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 brain probe simultaneously records and controls neuron activity

A new breakthrough technology, co-developed by UCL scientists, that simultaneously records and manipulates neuron activity deep within the brain could transform our understanding of neural circuits and neurological conditions, such as Alzheimer's disease and schizophrenia.

1 Jun 2026

Lower Alzheimer’s amyloid levels in Black and Latinx adults

Findings show lower amyloid PET positivity in Black and Latinx adults with cognitive impairment, highlighting disparities in dementia diagnosis and treatment.

1 Jun 2026

Why new Alzheimer’s drugs are dividing regulators worldwide

The Lancet World Report examines why regulators in the US, UK, and Europe have reached different decisions on new amyloid-targeting Alzheimer’s drugs despite evidence that they can modestly slow clinical decline. It highlights the unresolved balance among benefits, safety risks, costs, access, and the need for broader, earlier, and more patient-centered treatment strategies.

31 May 2026

Researchers uncover new clues about the origin of Alzheimer's tau tangles

Researchers at Columbia University have uncovered new clues about the earliest molecular events that may trigger Alzheimer's disease, shedding light on how toxic tau filaments begin to form in the brain.

29 May 2026

Gladstone scientists track exact routes used to clear brain waste

Think of the brain as if it were a house. Insulated from its environment, a house relies on complex networks-pipes, drains, and disposal systems-that interface with the outside world to keep the home functional on the inside.

29 May 2026

Advanced tau imaging improves early Alzheimer’s disease detection accuracy

A new brain imaging test can detect a key hallmark of Alzheimer's disease before symptoms appear and earlier than the method currently used in clinical practice in the United States and Europe, report University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine researchers today in The Lancet.

28 May 2026

Blood biomarkers may detect Alzheimer’s risk before symptoms appear

For the first time, researchers found blood biomarkers for Alzheimer's disease that correlated with minor cognitive differences in midlife adults who did not have dementia.

28 May 2026

Artificial intelligence reveals hidden fluid flow patterns in sleeping brains

When a person goes into deep sleep, waterlike fluid circulates around the brain, washing away metabolic waste that is linked to diseases such as Alzheimer's.

27 May 2026

Virtual reality navigation deficits predict future brain volume loss

Alzheimer's disease (AD) often begins long before it is clinically recognized, with subtle brain changes emerging years before noticeable memory loss or cognitive decline.

27 May 2026

New study tests vitamin D analog against pancreatic cancer

A small clinical trial led by Dana-Farber Cancer Institute researchers put a Salk Institute idea to the test in patients: that activating the vitamin D receptor can help reshape the protective environment surrounding pancreatic tumors in ways that could make the notoriously difficult-to-treat cancer more vulnerable to therapeutic treatments.

26 May 2026

Estrogen decline alters brain cell matrix in older females

A largely overlooked space between cells in women's brains may hold the key to understanding memory loss tied to estrogen decline after menopause, reports a new preclinical Northwestern Medicine study.

26 May 2026

Gum disease pathogen may drive Alzheimer’s through microglial ferroptosis pathway

Alzheimer's disease (AD), the leading cause of dementia, is projected to affect 152 million individuals worldwide by 2050; yet its pathogenesis remains poorly understood and effective treatments are lacking.

24 May 2026

New study reveals nitric oxide’s widespread impact on genetics

Genes undergo extensive editing through a process called alternative splicing, which greatly increases the size of the functional genome, the working portion of our DNA that helps make each person unique. Put simply, a single gene can be edited in different ways to produce multiple sets of instructions.

22 May 2026

Disrupted sleep rhythms may increase dementia risk through impaired waste clearance

Why are conditions such as chronic stress, depression, cardiovascular disease, fragmented sleep, and aging all associated with a higher risk of dementia? In a new review piece in Science, University of Rochester Medicine neuroscientist Maiken Nedergaard, MD, DMSc, proposes that many of these seemingly different conditions may converge on the same biological problem: disruption of a sleep-dependent brain rhythm that helps clear waste from the brain.

22 May 2026

New immuno-infrared sensor aids in early diagnosis of Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease

An early start to treatment is crucial to successful therapy. A new sensor is helping with early detection.

21 May 2026

Common vegetable oil compound shows power to fight dangerous viruses

A common vegetable oil may hold the key to fighting some of the world's most dangerous viruses.

21 May 2026

New study shows how exercise hormone reduces multiple sclerosis symptoms

A new study offers clues as to why exercise can improve neurological symptoms in people with multiple sclerosis (MS).

21 May 2026

Uneven grey matter loss serves as a powerful new biomarker for early neurodegeneration

Universitat Oberta de Catalunya Alzheimer's disease begins to weave a web in the brain and remodel neuronal tissue 15 to 20 years before the first symptoms appear. From the time this happens, however, until the disease is diagnosed and, later, enters an advanced phase, it progresses along a continuum of changes to the brain.

21 May 2026

Key neural circuit helps the brain “change gears”

Most people have experienced the feeling: switching from one task to another, only to find the brain momentarily stuck in the old mode of thinking. Sometimes, even after realizing a strategy no longer works, the mind keeps returning to it anyway.

21 May 2026