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.

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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 (303 of 347). 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 (11 of 347). 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” (33 of 347). 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. 265 of 347 items have one.

Nearly 75% of former NFL players who died between 2008 and 2023 had CTE, analysis estimates

Medical Xpress Research

A new study led by Boston University researchers estimates that nearly 75% of all NFL players who died between 2008 and 2023 had chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) neuropathology. …

Read at Medical Xpress →

Low daily step counts linked to dementia, Parkinson's and stroke

Medical Xpress Research

Your fitness tracker may reveal more than your daily step count. It could also offer clues about your future brain health. Researchers analyzed a year's worth of Fitbit data from more than 22,000 adults, ages 40 and older…

Read at Medical Xpress → Archived copy (23 Oct 2026), Internet Archive

Drug combination that reduces oxygen levels in tissues improves Parkinson's symptoms in mice

Medical Xpress Research

In a new study, Broad Institute researchers report that two small-molecule chemicals that reduce oxygen delivery to cells improved symptoms of neurodegeneration in a mouse model of Parkinson's disease. …

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Brain responses to heartbeat are altered in patients with iRBD

Medical Xpress Research

Isolated REM sleep behavior disorder (iRBD), a condition characterized by strong physical reactions to vivid, often violent dreams, is one of the earliest warning signs of brain changes seen in Parkinson's disease or dementia with Lewy bodies…

Why it matters: Isolated REM sleep behavior disorder serves as one of the earliest warning signs of brain changes seen in Parkinson's disease or dementia with Lewy bodies.

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Chronic traumatic encephalopathy should be recognized as a distinct cause of dementia, study finds

Medical Xpress Research

The largest study of its kind from the Boston University CTE Center reveals that chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) should be recognized as a new cause of dementia. …

Why it matters: The largest study of its kind reveals that chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) should be recognized as a new cause of dementia.

Read at Medical Xpress → Archived copy (27 Jan 2026), Internet Archive

Key phospholipid points to potential treatment for vascular dementia

Medical Xpress Research

A possible new treatment for impaired brain blood flow and related dementias is on the horizon. Research by scientists at the University of Vermont Robert Larner…

Why it matters: Research by scientists at the University of Vermont Robert Larner points to a potential treatment for impaired brain blood flow and vascular dementia.

Read at Medical Xpress → Archived copy (3 Jan 2026), Internet Archive