Dementia News and Research

Latest Dementia News and Research

Large study links more siblings to better bereavement coping

Having more brothers and sisters may make it easier to cope with the death of a parent, in midlife, particularly when it's the mother who dies, suggests research published online in the Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health.

1 Apr 2026

Blood test may detect cognitive decline years before symptoms

A blood test could help identify people at higher risk of cognitive decline years before a traditional diagnosis is possible – according to University of East Anglia research.

31 Mar 2026

What happens when more of your exercise is vigorous instead of moderate?

In a large UK Biobank analysis, a higher proportion of vigorous physical activity relative to total activity volume was associated with lower risks of eight major chronic diseases and all-cause mortality, even after accounting for overall activity volume. Device-based data suggested that activity intensity generally offered greater preventive potential than total volume alone across most outcomes.

31 Mar 2026

Novel compound clears harmful protein, protects neurons in frontotemporal dementia models

New research from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis adds to growing evidence that helping brain cells break down and eliminate their own cellular waste is a promising treatment strategy for a variety of neurodegenerative diseases.

31 Mar 2026

Study links atrial fibrillation to poorer brain clearance and cognitive decline

Researchers found that people with atrial fibrillation had lower MRI-based glymphatic activity and poorer cognitive performance than healthy controls, with the greatest impairment seen in non-paroxysmal AF. In patients who underwent catheter ablation, glymphatic activity improved after sinus rhythm was restored, suggesting a possible link between heart rhythm, brain waste clearance, and cognition.

30 Mar 2026

Short bursts of vigorous activity can lower risk of major diseases

People who get just a few minutes of vigorous activity daily are less likely to develop eight major diseases, including arthritis, heart disease and dementia, according to research published in the European Heart Journal today (Monday).

29 Mar 2026

APOE4 alters brain immunity and cognition differently in females and males

APOE4 drove sex-specific changes in meningeal immunity, lymphatic drainage, brain lipids, neuroinflammation, and cognition in mouse models, with females showing greater inflammatory and cognitive vulnerability. Suppressing innate immunity improved some cognitive outcomes in female E4/E4 mice but worsened them in male E4/E4 mice, underscoring the need for sex-tailored approaches.

29 Mar 2026

Investigational drug lowers angiotensinogen but shows unclear blood pressure benefits

The investigational drug tonlamarsen—which is designed to lower blood pressure by reducing the production of angiotensinogen, a protein that turns into the hormone that regulates blood pressure—caused a significant and sustained drop in angiotensinogen but its impact on blood pressure was less clear, according to a study presented at the American College of Cardiology's Annual Scientific Session.

28 Mar 2026

Heart structure changes in midlife linked to long-term disease risk

Higher left atrial end-systolic dimension (LASD), an increased measurement of the left upper chamber of the heart, and left ventricular mass (LVM), a clinical measurement of the weight of the heart's left ventricular myocardium, are well-established indicators of cardiovascular damage that are associated with a higher risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) in the short-term (less than 10 years).

28 Mar 2026

Hospital delirium associated with increased likelihood of future dementia

Older adults who develop delirium during a hospital admission face a substantially higher risk of dementia in later years, even if they had no prior health conditions, according to a major new population study.

27 Mar 2026

Mentally active sitting linked to reduced risk of dementia

New research distinguishing between passive and mentally active sitting in association with dementia has found that adults who engaged in extended durations of mentally passive sedentary behaviors had a higher risk of dementia.

26 Mar 2026

New brain atlas reveals how the human neocortex forms over time

In a bid to better understand, and potentially treat, a host of conditions that affect early cognition, neurodevelopment and the brain later in life, investigators at Johns Hopkins Medicine and colleagues throughout the world have been mapping the molecular construction of the human brain.

25 Mar 2026

Stroke may trigger younger brain patterns in unaffected regions

In a new study published in The Lancet Digital Health, scientists at the USC Mark and Mary Stevens Neuroimaging and Informatics Institute (Stevens INI) have discovered that the brains of people who experience severe physical impairment after a stroke may reorganize themselves in unexpected ways, showing signs of "younger" brain structure in undamaged regions as they adapt to injury.

25 Mar 2026

Massive clinical trial investigates brain training to delay dementia onset

An expansive clinical trial led by USF researchers and aimed at delaying the onset of dementia continues to receive major federal support for addressing a public health crisis.

25 Mar 2026

Passion fruit molecule may help prevent Alzheimer’s disease progression

Four years ago, a research group at the University of Oslo made what would turn out to be a major discovery.

25 Mar 2026

Severe infections linked to higher dementia risk independent of coexisting illnesses

Severe infections increase the risk of dementia independently of other coexisting illnesses, according to a new study published March 24th in the open-access journal PLOS Medicine by Pyry Sipilä of the University of Helsinki, Finland, and colleagues.

24 Mar 2026

Home cooking may help prevent dementia in seniors

Preparing a home cooked meal at least once a week may cut older people's risk of dementia by 30%, suggests research published online in the Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health.

24 Mar 2026

Walking patterns help distinguish Lewy body dementia from Parkinson’s

Doctors often struggle to distinguish early dementia with Lewy bodies from early Parkinson's disease.

24 Mar 2026

Cerebrospinal fluid marker enhances accuracy in diagnosis of Parkinson’s and Lewy body dementia

An international consortium has achieved a major breakthrough in the diagnosis of neurological diseases. In a recent publication in the scientific journal Nature Medicine, they describe the discovery of a new quantitative biomarker in lumbar fluid (cerebrospinal fluid) that is helping doctors to diagnose Parkinson's disease and Lewy body dementia more accurately.

24 Mar 2026

New protein atlas identifies distinct subtypes of neurodegenerative diseases

Neurodegenerative diseases form a tangled biological web with overlapping molecular signatures and symptoms. To decode this complexity, a multi-institute collaboration led by St. Jude Children's Research Hospital scientists developed the pan-neurodegeneration atlas (PanNDA).

23 Mar 2026