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Could the Mediterranean diet protect the brain through the gut?

A narrative review finds that the Mediterranean diet may support brain health through gut microbiome, immune, metabolic, and barrier-related pathways, but direct human evidence that microbiome remodeling mediates neuroprotection remains limited. The proposed mechanisms involve microbial metabolites, reduced inflammatory signaling, stronger intestinal and blood-brain barrier function, and possible effects on processes linked to Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases.

27 Sep 2026

Advances in chemistry and delivery are taking oligonucleotide medicines beyond rare diseases

A review in Cell Reports Medicine examines how advances in oligonucleotide chemistry and delivery have established ASOs and RNA interference therapies as a class of genetic medicines, with 21 oligonucleotides approved at the time of writing. It also identifies extrahepatic delivery, safety, target validation, individualized treatment, and data quality as priorities as the field expands into common diseases and explores AI-assisted development.

24 Sep 2026

Study links processed foods to targeted domain-specific cognitive decline

An unhealthy Western-style diet was associated with a faster cognitive decline in people with a genetic risk of Alzheimer's disease, according to new research led by Murdoch University and Alzheimer's Research Australia.

15 Sep 2026

APOE genotype helps p-tau217 predict who may develop cognitive impairment sooner

A pooled analysis of 8,582 adults from seven prospective cohorts found that higher plasma p-tau217 concentrations were associated with greater cognitive impairment risk and earlier progression, with stronger associations among APOE-ε4 carriers. Each 1-SD increase in p-tau217 was associated with a 24% shorter time to cognitive impairment among carriers compared with 13% among non-carriers, suggesting that genetic background can refine the prognostic meaning of this Alzheimer’s disease blood biomarker.

14 Sep 2026

Scientists traced a hidden immune route that may worsen tau-linked brain damage

In a mouse model of tauopathy, conventional type 1 dendritic cells (cDC1s) cross-presented brain-derived antigens in deep cervical lymph nodes, priming CD8+ T cells that accumulated in the brain and promoted neurodegeneration. Disrupting cDC1s or their cross-presentation activity reduced CD8+ T-cell infiltration and protected against neuronal loss, while human primary tauopathy samples also showed increased brain CD8+ T cells, although cDC1 involvement in humans remains unconfirmed.

6 Sep 2026

The scale told a similar story across three diets. The liver told a different one

In a randomized controlled trial of people with metabolically unhealthy obesity, approximately 10% weight loss improved insulin sensitivity and several cardiometabolic measures across ketogenic, Mediterranean, and very-low-fat plant-forward diets. However, the very-low-carbohydrate ketogenic diet produced larger improvements in hepatic insulin sensitivity and greater reductions in liver fat and several glucose and insulin measures than the higher-carbohydrate diets.

31 Aug 2026

SHASTA trials show substantial triglyceride reductions with plozasiran

Plozasiran significantly reduced triglyceride levels in severe hypertriglyceridemia patients, showing promise in preventing acute pancreatitis after one year.

31 Aug 2026

HRT linked to lower dementia risk, but timing and menopause type matter

In a UK Biobank study of 183,450 postmenopausal women followed for an average of 13.3 years, hormone replacement therapy use was associated with a modestly lower risk of dementia, with stronger associations in women who had surgical menopause or shorter natural estrogen exposure. The relationship also varied by age at HRT initiation, while the observational design means the findings cannot establish that HRT prevents dementia.

27 Aug 2026

The diet-Alzheimer’s connection is more complicated than “eat this, avoid that”

A mini-review finds that dietary patterns may influence Alzheimer’s disease through interconnected pathways involving neuroinflammation, insulin resistance, oxidative stress, blood-brain barrier dysfunction, homocysteine, and the gut-brain axis. The authors argue that genetics, sex, age, physical activity, and socioeconomic context may modify these relationships, supporting more individualized approaches to nutrition research and dementia prevention.

25 Aug 2026

Researchers tracked biological aging for decades and found a striking pattern in women

Accelerated biological age in midlife was associated with higher risks of cardiovascular disease and death in both men and women over nearly three decades of follow-up. Women with accelerated biological age also showed a higher risk of dementia, although adding biological age to standard risk factors provided only minimal additional predictive value.

12 Aug 2026

One cognitive ability stood out in a study of Western diets and Alzheimer’s risk genes

A Western dietary pattern was associated with faster attention decline among older adults carrying the APOE ε4 allele, while no significant cognitive associations emerged for a Prudent dietary pattern. However, the Western diet association lost statistical significance after excluding participants with possible baseline cognitive impairment, making the finding exploratory.

11 Aug 2026

Study links better midlife vascular health to nearly 13 more dementia-free years

A long-term study of 12,409 adults found that a greater burden of diabetes, hypertension, and current smoking in midlife was associated with substantially fewer years lived free of dementia. Adults with none of these risk factors had about 30.1 dementia-free years from age 55, compared with 17.5 years among those with all three, a difference of nearly 13 years.

10 Aug 2026

Persistent financial hardship tracks with poorer memory and processing speed by midlife

Researchers linked persistent low income and financial hardship across early and mid-adulthood to poorer processing speed and verbal memory at age 53 in a British birth cohort. Neuroimaging suggested greater vulnerability to later brain atrophy among men, people from disadvantaged childhood backgrounds, and APOE-ε4 carriers, although these subgroup findings require replication.

2 Aug 2026

Longer activity bouts link to lower future dementia and mental health risks

A UK Biobank analysis of 66,483 adults found that longer daily moderate-to-vigorous activity bouts and less fragmented activity were associated with lower subsequent risks of inpatient diagnoses of dementia, depression, and anxiety, independent of total activity time. In neuroimaging data from 13,108 participants, these activity patterns were also associated with more favorable brain measures, although the observational analyses cannot establish cause and effect.

23 Jul 2026

Frequent TV watching links to higher white matter lesion volume

ARIC researchers linked self-reported TV watching and occupational sitting in midlife with brain MRI measures obtained roughly 24 years later in 1,712 adults without dementia. Frequent TV watching was associated with greater white matter hyperintensity volume and lower volumes in several brain regions, while sitting at work was associated with lower white matter hyperintensity volume and larger selected cortical volumes.

22 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

Sleeping longer may signal early Alzheimer's-related brain changes

Regularly sleeping long hours each night is associated with higher levels of an Alzheimer's-related protein in the blood, even accounting for other health factors, suggests a new study from UT Health San Antonio, the academic health center of The University of Texas at San Antonio.

15 Jul 2026

Weill Cornell Medicine receives federal grant to study new gene therapy for Alzheimer's disease

The National Institute on Aging of the National Institutes of Health has awarded a five-year grant initially worth $8.37 million for Weill Cornell Medicine researchers to study a new gene therapy for Alzheimer's disease in people who have a high genetic risk of developing the condition.

8 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

Blood metabolism maps how lifestyle tracks function in cognitive aging

A new study used pathway-level blood metabolomics to identify lifestyle-associated metabolic patterns linked to physical, cognitive, and daily functional performance across CN, MCI, and AD. The findings suggest that diet- and activity-linked pathway signals span energy, amino acid, lipid, inflammatory, oxidative stress, and microbiome-related metabolism, but require independent and longitudinal validation.

29 Jun 2026