From slurping daily spoonfuls of fish oil to giving up alcohol, lifting weights and playing word games, older Americans think just about anything that might keep their brains sharp is worth a try.
After all, the risk of dementia — a loss of memory, problem-solving and thinking abilities that often equals an end to independence — rises sharply with age. By itself, the most comm...
Heavy drinkers have an increased risk of developing brain lesions associated with memory and thinking problems, a new study says.
Folks who imbibe eight or more alcoholic drinks a week have an increased risk of hyaline arteriolosclerosis, or a thickening and narrowing of the small arteries that f...
Brain diseases like stroke, dementia and depression share common risk factors, and changing any can lower a person’s risk of all three conditions, a new study says.
Addressing factors as varied as blood pressure, blood sugar, cholesterol, physical ac...
An experimental blood test for Alzheimer’s disease not only can aid in its diagnosis but also indicate how far the brain condition has progressed, a new study says.
The test tracks levels of a protein called MTBR-tau243, which is linked to toxic tau tangles that build up in the brain as part of Alzheimer’s disease, researchers said in the journal
Heart disease might contribute to the sort of brain shrinkage seen in dementia, a new study says.
People with early signs of heart problems are more likely to have brain changes associated with dementia, researchers reported on March 26 in the journal
The nose might know whether a person is showing early signs of dementia or Alzheimer’s disease, a new study says.
Older adults who’ve developed mild cognitive impairment -- a precursor to dementia and Alzheimer’s -- score lower on a peel-and-sniff test than people with ...
HIV could explode worldwide in the wake of U.S. cuts to foreign aid, resulting in millions of AIDS deaths and soaring rates of infection, a new analysis says.
President Donald Trump has floated the notion of ending the President’s Emergency Fund for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), a program created un...
A portable system powered by artificial intelligence (AI) can help detect early signs of brain decline, potentially offering up a red flag for people at risk of dementia or Alzheimer’s disease, researchers said.
For seniors, such sleepiness could indicate that they’re at increased risk for dementia, a new study suggests.
Women in their 80s had double risk of dementia if they experienced increasing daytime sleepiness over a five-year period, researchers reported in the journal Neuro...
Music therapy can help lift the spirits and ease depression in people with dementia, a new evidence review has found.
Findings suggest that music-based therapy probably improves depressive symptoms and might even improve behavioral issues by the end of treatment, researcher...
Moving your body helps your brain, a new study suggests.
Folks who regularly exercise have better mental and brain health, researchers will report in early April at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Neurology in San Diego and online.
Moderate to vigorous physical activity reduces risk of dementia, s...
Microplastics could be affecting the brain health of people living in coastal areas, a new study says.
Marine microplastics -- microscopic plastic fragments smaller than 5 millimeters -- are associated with disabilities of memory, thinking and mobility, according to findings to be presented in April at a meeting of the American Academy of Neurology in San Diego.
TUESDAY, Feb. 25, 2025 (HealthDay news) -- Antidepressants are frequently prescribed to people with dementia for symptoms like anxiety, depression, aggressiveness and sleeplessness.
But a specific class of antidepressant medications -- selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor...
Love doesn't fade when one member of a family develops Alzheimer's disease, but times of intimacy like Valentine's Day can become tougher.
Experts at the Alzheimer's Foundation of America (AFA) acknowledge that a loved one living with dementia can have trouble expressing their feelings or remembering things as they did in the past.
Maintaining tight control over blood pressure for even a short while can provide lasting benefits for seniors’ brain health, a new clinical trial says.
People had lower risk of mild cognitive impairment or dementia after keeping their blood pressure around 120 systolic for three and a half ...
Preventing or treating infections could be a key means of warding off dementia, a new evidence review says.
Vaccines, antibiotics, antiviral medications and anti-inflammatory drugs are all associated with a reduced risk of dementia, researchers reported in a study published Jan. 21 i...
Many elderly people and their caregivers don’t know a doctor has diagnosed them with dementia.
More than three-quarters of patients with dementia were not aware of their diagnosis, according to results recently published in the Journal of General Internal Medicine.
Artificial intelligence might be able to more quickly and affordably identify menopausal women who are having problems with memory or cognition.
AI effectively identified women with severe subjective cognitive decline (SCD), or self-perceived confusion or memory problems, researchers report in a new study published Jan. 14 in the journal
Steak, hamburgers, beef ribs and hot dogs are bad for the aging brain.
Folks who eat lots of red and processed meat are more likely to develop dementia, researchers reported.
Eating more than one serving of red meat a day -- 3 ounces, about the size of a bar of soap -- is associated with a 16% increased risk of cognitive decline, researchers found.
U.S. teenagers still struggle to make healthy choices when it comes to diet, exercise and sleep, a new Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report says.
Specifically, the percentage of students eating healthy, exercising regularly, and getting at least 8 hours of sleep was lower in 2023 than in 2013.
“Overall, U.S. high school students did not engage in adequate levels o...
Seniors’ risk of dementia is more than double what was previously thought.
The risk of developing dementia after age 55 is more than 42% among Americans, researchers reported in a study published Jan. 13 in the journal Nature Medicine.
That’s more than twice the risk reported by older studies.
Gum disease appears to disrupt brain activity, potentially increasing a person’s risk of cognitive decline.
People with gum disease experienced altered connections between different brain regions, compared to folks with good dental health, MRI scans show in a new study.
“These differences suggest that periodontitis may negatively affect brain function even in norma...
More and more adults are stuck in the middle of their families, caring not only for their children but also for aging parents and other older family members.
The mental and physical health of these “sandwich carers” is more likely to deteriorate over time, a new study published in the jo...
The holiday spirit is infectious, even for people suffering from dementia.
But family and friends might need to make some slight adjustments to help a dementia patient better enjoy the holidays, the Alzheimer’s Foundation of America (AFA) says.
Get in a little pulse-pounding exercise today, a new study shows.
In a finding that suggests the benefits of exercise may linger longer than believed, researchers discovered that middle-aged adults and seniors perform better on ...
Stroke survivors have an 80% increased risk of dementia compared to people who’ve never suffered a stroke, a new study finds.
About 19% of people who’d had a stroke developed dementia during an average six-year follow-up, compared with just 13% of those with no stroke, researchers reported Dec. 4 in the journal
Maintaining muscle might be one way to help prevent dementia, new research suggests.
“We found that older adults with smaller skeletal muscles are about 60% more likely to develop dementia when adjusted for other known risk factors,” said study co-senior author Marilyn Albert. She's a professor ...
Men with heart risk factors tend to lose their brain health more quickly than women with similar heart risks, a new study finds.
These men face brain decline as early as their mid-50s, while women are most susceptible from their mid-60s onward, researchers report in the Journal of Neurology Neurosurgery and Psychiatry....
People in Southern California with relatively high exposures to wildfire smoke over a decade also had significantly higher risks for dementia, a new study warns.
In fact, the fine-particle pollution created by these fires seems more closely tied to brain trouble than similar pollutants from factories and car exhaust, the researchers noted.
A type 2 diabetes diagnosis before age 50 comes with a health risk that patients might not expect.
Especially if they are obese, these folks are more likely to develop dementia later, new research warns.
"Our study suggests that there may be a cognitive consequences to earlier onset type 2 diabetes, and it points to the need for strategies to prevent dementia that consider both
Dementia strikes all races, but new research suggests thinking declines in poor seniors are often overlooked.
Among a group of more than 200 low-income patients who were treated at community health centers, 3 of 4 had undiagnosed cognitive issues, researchers reported recen...
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