Alzheimer's & Dementia News and Research

Latest Alzheimer's & Dementia News and Research

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

Smoking cessation may reduce dementia risk for people who avoid major weight gain

Quitting smoking may be associated with a lowered risk of dementia, especially for people who avoid major weight gain after quitting, according to a study published May 20, 2026, in Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

20 May 2026

Poor sleep may flag early Alzheimer’s risk in genetically vulnerable older women

Poorer subjective sleep quality was linked to worse visual memory and greater limbic tau burden in older women with higher genetic risk for Alzheimer’s disease. The findings suggest sleep complaints may help identify women at elevated risk for early AD-related brain and cognitive changes, but larger longitudinal studies are needed.

20 May 2026

New AI framework maps systemic obesity damage at cellular resolution

Researchers at Helmholtz Munich, the Ludwig Maximilians University Munich (LMU) and collaborating institutions have developed an artificial intelligence (AI) framework that maps disease-related changes throughout the entire mouse body at cellular resolution.

20 May 2026

Early electronic advance directives reduce burdensome end-of-life care

Advance directives document patient preferences for future care, including end-of-life. An analysis in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society found that older patients with an advance directive that had been uploaded into the electronic health record at least six months before death were 25% less likely to experience potentially burdensome end-of-life care (19.9% versus 26.8%) and 31% less likely to have died in the hospital (23.2% versus 32.1%).

20 May 2026

Researchers uncover new genetic links influencing blood lipid composition

DZNE researchers have generated new insights into how the human genome shapes the chemical composition and concentration of blood lipids.

20 May 2026

Women may face greater cognitive impact from dementia risk factors

Researchers from the University of California San Diego School of Medicine found that women not only experience a higher burden of certain modifiable dementia risk factors, but also appear more vulnerable to their effects on cognitive function.

20 May 2026

Facial micromovements may help doctors measure pain more accurately

Researchers at Rutgers University-New Brunswick are working to measure pain more accurately beyond the single, subjective question patients are often asked: "On a scale of 1 to 10, how bad is your pain?"

19 May 2026

Pennington and Vanderbilt launch major study on childhood obesity treatment

Pennington Biomedical Research Center, in collaboration with Vanderbilt University Medical Center, has launched a research study, the COACH trial, to test different ways to help children and their families improve their health through lifestyle changes delivered by primary care clinics in communities in Louisiana and Tennessee.

19 May 2026

Researchers use living human cells on a chip to study memory loss

A University of Bath-led project has secured £500,000 to develop a first-of-its-kind 'organ-on-chip' device that replicates connections between the brain, gut and pancreas.

19 May 2026

Popular analysis technique hides patient variability in Alzheimer's drug trials

A statistical approach being used to support a new class of Alzheimer's drugs may lead to overstated claims about how the drugs work, according to a new study led by researchers at the Brown University School of Public Health.

19 May 2026

Low-frequency ultrasound waves directly manipulate blood flow properties

For decades, ultrasound has been associated with diagnostics – a routine scan in a hospital room, a monitor displaying organs, tissues, or the first image of a baby.

18 May 2026

Discovery of memory switch in the brain opens new avenues for dementia therapies

"Why do patients with dementia or cognitive decline remain stuck in past memories?" KAIST researchers have identified, for the first time in the world, the existence of a "neural switch" in the brain that selectively retrieves the most recent memories.

18 May 2026

Sleep complaints highlight Alzheimer's risk in genetically predisposed women

Sleep complaints may be an important Alzheimer's disease risk factor in older women with a higher genetic predisposition to the disease, according to a new study from researchers at the University of California San Diego.

18 May 2026

Blood metabolite patterns could reveal dementia risk in midlife

Research shows that blood metabolite profiles can indicate dementia risk, offering a potential tool for early detection and prevention of cognitive decline.

18 May 2026

Silent heart attacks may speed cognitive decline

Research shows hidden heart attacks accelerate cognitive decline, highlighting the need for better identification of cardiovascular risks to brain health.

18 May 2026

New study identifies dopamine's role in reversing Alzheimer's

Imagine if patients with Alzheimer's could have their memories restored. Such a future may seem like a pipe dream, but a new study by researchers at Tohoku University, in collaboration with the University of California, Irvine, has identified dopamine dysfunction as a previously unrecognized mechanism underlying memory impairment, unlocking a potential therapeutic means of reversing cognitive decline.

18 May 2026

Research identifies significant spike in neurological disorders during the covid-19 pandemic

In 2021, neurological diseases affected 3.40 billion individuals worldwide, corresponding to 43.1 % of the global population. In China, rapid demographic shifts and lifestyle changes have contributed to a continued rise in the burden of stroke, dementia, and Parkinson's disease-a trend expected to persist.

15 May 2026

Healthy brain maintenance protects cognitive skills from early Alzheimer's effects

A healthy brain may help protect thinking and memory skills from the early effects of Alzheimer's disease, a new study has found.

15 May 2026

New research maps the biological toll of drinking

A new review published in the journal Addiction confirms drinking causes substantial harm to health. Some of those harms may be reversible if the person reduces or stops drinking.

14 May 2026