Get help now — free helplines

You can call any of these for free. You do not need a diagnosis, an appointment, or a crisis to call — questions and plain exhaustion are reasons enough.

  • Alzheimer's Association 24/7 Helpline 800-272-3900 24 hours a day, 365 days a year Free, confidential support and information for people with dementia, caregivers, families and the public. Master's-level clinicians. Also Spanish.
  • 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline 988 24/7 Call or text 988, or chat at 988lifeline.org. For anyone in emotional distress or a mental-health crisis, including caregivers.
  • Alzheimer's Foundation of America (AFA) Helpline 866-232-8484 9:00 am - 9:00 pm ET, seven days a week Licensed social workers providing support, info and referrals. Also text message and web chat. Text: 646-586-5283

In a medical emergency, call 911. More numbers, and what each line does, on the help page.

Find news

Free to read, “May need a subscription” and “Archived copy”: what they mean

Whether an article is free to read is a guess, not a test of your access. Each item is one of three:

  • No label: free to read (339 of 393). The publisher’s page marks it free, or the outlet publishes free to read: Medical Xpress, ScienceDaily, NIH (incl. NIA and PMC), Alzheimer's Association, Alzheimer's News Today, NPR, Alzheimer's Disease International, or a .gov site.
  • May need a subscription (16 of 393). The publisher’s own page marks the article as not free to read, or — when the page says nothing — the outlet sells subscriptions: The New York Times, STAT, Scientific American, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, The Economist, Bloomberg, The Atlantic, The New Yorker, Wired, Los Angeles Times, The Boston Globe, The Times, The Telegraph, New Scientist, Endpoints News, Science. Each badge says which.
  • “Free to read? Not known” (38 of 393). The outlet is on neither list and its page said nothing. We do not call these paywalled.

Archived copy links go to a copy the Internet Archive (web.archive.org) saved, dated the day it was saved. We show one only where the Internet Archive reported a working saved copy when we checked; an archived copy of a subscription article sometimes shows only its opening. 291 of 393 items have one.

Small daily activities may help ease dementia caregivers' stress

Medical Xpress Caregiving

Nearly 12 million people in the U.S. provide unpaid care to a relative or friend with Alzheimer's disease and related dementias (ADRD). Compared with caregivers of people without dementia, ADRD caregivers face greater demands that may contribute to higher rates of depression…

Read at Medical Xpress →

Relationship study finds helping dementia patient supports even their spousal caregiver

Medical Xpress Caregiving

Just as a fleet of ships moves across the ocean—the flagship in the lead as other vessels circle around it—people move through life with a social convoy around them, closest confidants shifting as a person's season of life changes.

Read at Medical Xpress →

'Person-centered care' improves lives of dementia residents, caregivers

Medical Xpress Caregiving

For many Kentuckians with dementia, medical interventions may seem like the only choice, but a new University of Kentucky study shows that prioritizing joy and engagement through enrichment activities is vital for the health of both residents and the caregivers who support them.

Why it matters: Prioritizing joy and engagement through enrichment activities improves health for dementia residents and caregivers, offering a vital alternative to medical interventions.

Read at Medical Xpress →

Why people with dementia wander—and how families can keep them safe

Medical Xpress Caregiving

In June 2025, an elderly woman with dementia went missing in a forested area in Natuna, Indonesia, while tending to her plants. Search and rescue (SAR) teams were deployed to locate her.

Why it matters: Understanding why people with dementia wander can help families keep them safe, especially when individuals go missing in dangerous areas.

Read at Medical Xpress → Archived copy (22 Jan 2026), Internet Archive

Why a life-threatening sedative is being prescribed more often for seniors

Medical Xpress Caregiving

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. …

Why it matters: When agitated dementia patients wander or shout at night, families and caregivers seek ways to treat this frightening and potentially dangerous behavior.

Read at Medical Xpress → Archived copy (10 Mar 2026), Internet Archive

CMS GUIDE Model: Lessons Learned by an Established Track Program at End of Year One

Peer-reviewed report (PMC / Innovation in Aging) Caregiving

A review of one Established Track GUIDE Model dementia-care program's first year found 158 patients and caregivers enrolled, over 35% of eligible beneficiaries used respite services, and about 9% disenrolled, often due to death or hospice transition.

Why it matters: Early real-world evidence on how Medicare's new dementia care payment model is working for caregivers, including uptake of respite care, one of its core promised benefits.

Read at Peer-reviewed report (PMC / Innovation in Aging) →

Alzheimer's Association Center for Dementia Respite Innovation Awards More Than $4 Million in New Round of Grants

Alzheimer's Association Caregiving

The Alzheimer's Association's Center for Dementia Respite Innovation awarded over $4 million to 41 community-based providers in 26 states, the second year of a five-year, $25 million program funded by a federal Administration for Community Living grant, to expand dementia-specific respite care.

Why it matters: Directly funds more respite care options for the nearly 12 million unpaid dementia caregivers nationwide, addressing one of caregivers' most requested forms of support.

Read at Alzheimer's Association → Archived copy (12 Apr 2026), Internet Archive

2025 Alzheimer's Disease Facts and Figures Report

Alzheimer's Association Caregiving

The Alzheimer's Association's annual report found 7.2 million Americans 65+ living with Alzheimer's, nearly 12 million family caregivers providing 19.2 billion hours of unpaid care (valued at about $413 billion), and total 2025 care costs projected at $384 billion; nearly 4 in 5 Americans said they'd want to know if they had Alzheimer's before symptoms worsened.

Why it matters: The most-cited annual benchmark data for the scale of Alzheimer's disease and its caregiving burden in the U.S., used by policymakers and advocates to justify funding and support programs.

Read at Alzheimer's Association → Archived copy (16 Feb 2026), Internet Archive