Dementia

Dementia is not a specific disease. It is a descriptive term for a collection of symptoms that can be caused by a number of disorders that affect the brain. People with dementia have significantly impaired intellectual functioning that interferes with normal activities and relationships.

What Causes Dementia?

Dementia occurs due to loss of brain function that occurs with certain diseases. It can affect several brain functions such as memory, thinking, language, planning, behavior and judgement. Dementias are usually progressive and worsen with time. They usually are degenerative and non reversible.

Differences Between Alzheimer's and Dementia

Childhood Dementia Signs and Symptoms

Dementia Symptoms

Antidepressants and Dementia: Is There a Link?

Dementia Treatment

Aromatherapy for Dementia

Dementia with Lewy Bodies

Dementia Prevention

Coconut Oil and Dementia

Migraines and Dementia

Does Depression and Anxiety Increase the Risk of Dementia?

See more featured articles »

Dementia Diagnosis

What is Mixed Dementia?

Parkinson's Compared to Dementia with Lewy Bodies (DLB)

Bright Light Therapy and Dementia

Mixed Dementia Symptoms and Diagnosis

Mixed Dementia Prevention and Treatment

Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation for Dementia

Childhood Dementia Causes

What is Dementia?

Latest Dementia News and Research

Ultra-processed foods threaten brain health in kids and teens, review warns

Children, adolescents, and unborn babies exposed to high levels of ultra-processed foods (UPFs) face increased risks of impaired brain development, cognitive deficits, and long-term mental health challenges. The review underscores how UPF-driven changes in reward pathways, nutrient deficits, inflammation, and the gut–brain axis can have lasting impacts across generations.

13 Jul 2025

More than 200 types of misfolded proteins could be associated with age-related cognitive decline

For decades, the story of Alzheimer's research has been dominated by a battle between A-beta and tau amyloids, both of which can kill neurons and impact the brain's ability to function.

11 Jul 2025

Genetic links between type 2 diabetes and subcortical brain structure revealed

Recently, the team led by Chief Physician Quan Zhang and Associate Professor Feng Liu at Tianjin Medical University General Hospital systematically evaluated the genetic associations between type 2 diabetes mellitus and subcortical brain structures using large-scale genome-wide association summary statistics and advanced statistical genetic methods.

11 Jul 2025

Fasting triggers neuroprotective changes that could delay dementia

Intermittent fasting could be a neuroprotective strategy, improving gut-brain axis function and reducing inflammation linked to neurodegenerative diseases.

11 Jul 2025

Insecticide exposure could impair mental function in older adults

The study investigates the link between pesticide exposure and cognitive impairment in older adults, suggesting a need for improved prevention strategies.

11 Jul 2025

Frequent gabapentin use linked to higher dementia and cognitive impairment risk

Receiving six or more prescriptions of the drug gabapentin for low back pain is associated with significantly increased risks of developing dementia and mild cognitive impairment (MCI)--29% and 85%, respectively-finds a large medical records study published online in the journal Regional Anesthesia & Pain Medicine.

10 Jul 2025

How a simple blood test can forecast future health risks

Plasma proteomics reveals that the biological ages of key organs, especially the brain and immune system, strongly predict the risk of future disease and early death. These organ-specific “clocks” provide a new tool for identifying those at highest risk and personalizing preventive care.

10 Jul 2025

Mapping vulnerability or resilience in Alzheimer's through imaging and genetics

It's been recognized for some time that Alzheimer's disease affects brain regions differently and that tau - a protein known to misbehave - plays an important role in the disease.

9 Jul 2025

Redefining Alzheimer’s development by mapping disease sequences

UCLA's study identifies distinct Alzheimer's disease trajectories, emphasizing the role of shared risk factors in early detection and targeted interventions.

9 Jul 2025

Researchers develop blood test panel for early Alzheimer’s detection

Researchers at the Federal University of São Carlos (UFSCar) in the state of São Paulo, Brazil, are developing a panel of biomarkers for the early detection of Alzheimer's disease and for distinguishing it from other types of dementia using blood tests.

9 Jul 2025

Can dietary copper help protect against dementia and memory loss?

Higher dietary copper intake was linked to better cognitive performance in older US adults, with benefits plateauing above a certain threshold. The effect was especially notable in stroke survivors, but further research is needed to confirm causality.

8 Jul 2025

Research reveals alarming rates of abuse in home-based dementia care

In a recent doctoral thesis from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), more than 500 caregivers describe the extent to which they have subjected elderly people with dementia living at home to violence, abuse and neglect.

8 Jul 2025

Dementia survival rates improve across multiple countries, study shows

A person diagnosed with dementia has improved survival outcomes in recent years amid significant progress in dementia diagnosis and care, according to a recent multinational study led by a University of Waterloo researcher.

8 Jul 2025

Cysteine plays key role in weight loss and fat metabolism

Consuming fewer calories is largely accepted as a way to improve health and lose weight, but a recently published study in Nature Metabolism points to a specific sulfur-containing amino acid cysteine as a key component in weight loss.

7 Jul 2025

Unlocking the brain’s language to fight Alzheimer’s

June is Alzheimer's and Brain Awareness Month. With an estimated 55 million people living with Alzheimer's Disease and other forms of dementia worldwide, advancing understanding of these complex diseases is critical to finding new treatments, and potentially, cures.

7 Jul 2025

Growing popularity of contact sports raises concern over brain injuries in Africa

Contact sports are becoming increasingly popular in Africa, raising concern about the risk of chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE).

7 Jul 2025

Side of onset influences non-motor symptoms in Parkinson’s disease

Parkinson's disease often begins asymmetrically, affecting either the right or left side of the body first. Researchers from the University of Geneva (UNIGE) and the Geneva University Hospitals (HUG) have demonstrated that this initial side of onset influences the progression of non-motor symptoms.

7 Jul 2025

UCLA Health researchers discover four pathways leading to Alzheimer’s disease

UCLA Health researchers have identified four distinct pathways that lead to Alzheimer's disease by analyzing electronic health records, offering new insights into how the condition develops over time rather than from isolated risk factors.

7 Jul 2025

Hearing aids and cochlear implants improve social lives of adults with hearing loss

Hearing loss doesn't just affect how people hear the world - it can also change how they connect with it.

4 Jul 2025

First large-scale stem cell bank created to investigate Alzheimer’s genetic risk factors

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a common, debilitating neurodegenerative disease affecting about 10 percent of people over the age of 65 and one third of people aged 85 and above. Besides environmental factors, the genes have a strong influence on whether or not a person develops AD during their lifetime.

4 Jul 2025