Dementia News and Research

Latest Dementia News and Research

The neuroscience of motivation-driven memory retention

Researchers from the Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore (NUS Medicine), and Duke University have proposed a neuroscience framework explaining how different types of motivation fundamentally reshape what and how the brain remembers.

21 Jan 2026

Tracing the decline in American heart disease mortality

Following a five-year upward trend likely impacted by the COVID pandemic, the number of heart disease and stroke deaths has declined, yet, heart disease and stroke still kill more people in the U.S. each year than any other cause, according to data reported in the 2026 Heart Disease and Stroke Statistics: A Report of U.S. and Global Data From the American Heart Association.

21 Jan 2026

New AI framework mirrors human physiology to understand emotional experiences

Emotions are a fundamental part of human psychology-a complex process that has long distinguished us from machines.

20 Jan 2026

Shingles vaccination may slow biological aging in older adults

Shingles vaccination not only protects against the disease but may also contribute to slower biological aging in older adults, according to a new USC Leonard Davis School of Gerontology study.

20 Jan 2026

Adding lean pork to a plant-forward diet supports healthy aging biomarkers

A randomized crossover feeding trial in adults aged 65 years or older found that plant-forward diets incorporating either minimally processed lean pork or lentils produced similar short-term improvements in cardiometabolic and neuroactive biomarkers. Both diets supported metabolic health and functional stability, with no overall adverse biomarker effects attributable to including minimally processed red meat within a Dietary Guidelines–aligned pattern.

19 Jan 2026

Understanding the trends of various neurological disorders in the Chinese population

Neurological disorders represent a mounting public health crisis in China, exacerbated by rapid population aging.

19 Jan 2026

Elevated tau in Long COVID patients raises risk for neurodegenerative diseases

A study of 227 individuals who experienced neuro cognitive difficulties post COVID-19 infection – such as headaches, vertigo, balance dysregulation, changes in taste/smell, and brain fog – displayed a significant increase in their blood plasma of a crucial protein called tau, which is found in nerves and especially in the brain.

19 Jan 2026

Super agers' resilience against Alzheimer's disease linked to protective gene variant

The gene variant posing the greatest genetic risk of late-onset Alzheimer's disease (AD) is called APOE-ε4. A different variant of the same gene, APOE-ε2, is thought to confer protection against AD.

19 Jan 2026

Majority of older adults in Ireland have poorly controlled high blood pressure

High blood pressure becomes more common after age 40years yet new research from The Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing (TILDA) at Trinity College Dublin shows that many people in Ireland with hypertension are still not optimally diagnosed or treated based on European Gudelines.

16 Jan 2026

Study finds growing long-term antipsychotic prescribing in elderly dementia patients

When agitated dementia patients wander or shout through the night, families and caregivers understandably feel the need to treat this frightening and potentially dangerous behavior. Antipsychotic medications are often resorted to with such patients, contributing to increases in antipsychotic treatment rates among older people.

16 Jan 2026

Experts issue strong call for overhaul of UK dementia prevention strategy

A national panel of experts has issued the strongest call yet for the Department of Health and Social Care to overhaul how it approaches dementia prevention, pointing to vital evidence that dementia risk can be reduced and providing a framework for the development of new government policy that could improve brain health for millions.

16 Jan 2026

Kaiser Permanente to pay $556 million in record Medicare Advantage fraud settlement

In the largest Medicare Advantage fraud settlement to date, Kaiser Permanente has agreed to pay $556 million to settle Justice Department allegations that it billed the government for medical conditions patients didn't have.

16 Jan 2026

New blood biomarker tracks brain injury progression after ischemic stroke

A new blood marker reflects the extent of brain injury after an ischemic stroke and can predict patient outcomes months to years later.

15 Jan 2026

Incretin-based diabetes drugs show potential protective effects against dementia

A large McGill University study has found that two classes of medications commonly prescribed for Type 2 diabetes, both incretin-based, are associated with a reduced risk of dementia.

15 Jan 2026

MIT researchers map dynamic fuzzy coat surrounding tau protein fibrils

One of the hallmarks of Alzheimer's disease is the clumping of proteins called Tau, which form tangled fibrils in the brain. The more severe the clumping, the more advanced the disease is.

14 Jan 2026

Hearing aid use has little impact on cognitive test scores

A new study has found that for people with moderate hearing loss, being prescribed hearing aids had little impact on cognitive test scores.

14 Jan 2026

Post-meal blood sugar spikes linked to increased Alzheimer's risk

A new study led by researchers from the University of Liverpool has found that spikes in blood sugar after meals may increase the risk of Alzheimer's disease.

14 Jan 2026

Vaccines are helping older people more than we knew

Let's be clear: The primary reason to be vaccinated against shingles is that two shots provide at least 90% protection against a painful, blistering disease that a third of Americans will suffer in their lifetimes, one that can cause lingering nerve pain and other nasty long-term consequences.

14 Jan 2026

New European initiative aims to transform real world Alzheimer’s disease care

Today, the ACCESS-AD consortium is announcing the launch of a transformative European initiative that will accelerate the implementation of scientific innovations for Alzheimer's disease (AD) management in real-world health systems.

13 Jan 2026

Study explores how biological and environmental systems regulate body weight

Pennington Biomedical researchers recently investigated the systems of the body that regulate weight, exploring whether our bodies defend an established weight target or if our bodies operate within a broader range of tolerance before biological mechanisms are activated.

13 Jan 2026