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  • 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.

Each study has a usefulness score out of 100 (rubric version 4.0). Tap a score to see what makes it up.

Highest usefulness score first. Studies without a score come last.

  1. Survival in hospice patients with dementia: the effect of home hospice and nurse visits

    ✓ Peer-reviewed alzhub usefulness score 55 out of 100. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society 2021-02-19 End-of-life care

    Nearly 40% of patients with dementia in our study experienced live discharge or a long length of stay.

  2. Past, Present, and Future of Non-invasive Brain Stimulation Approaches to Treat Cognitive Impairment in Neurodegenerative Diseases: Time for a Comprehensive Critical Review

    ✓ Peer-reviewed alzhub usefulness score 55 out of 100. Frontiers in aging neuroscience 2021-01-20 Prevention trials

    We here review evidence gathered for nearly a decade on non-invasive brain stimulation (NIBS), a less known therapeutic strategy aiming to limit cognitive decline associated with neurodegenerative conditions.

  3. Psychoeducational Program for the Family Member Caregivers of People with Dementia to Reduce Perceived Burden and Increase Patient's Quality of Life: A Randomized Controlled Trial

    ✓ Peer-reviewed alzhub usefulness score 55 out of 100. Journal of primary care & community health 2021-01-01 Treatments

    Psychoeducational program is effective in reducing the family caregivers' perceived burden.

    Why it matters

    A psychoeducational program for family caregivers significantly reduced their reported burden compared with routine care. This supports caregivers rather than treating the disease itself, and the study was small with 60 caregivers.

  4. Clinical Characteristics, Frailty, and Mortality of Residents With COVID-19 in Nursing Homes of a Region of Madrid

    ✓ Peer-reviewed alzhub usefulness score 55 out of 100. Journal of the American Medical Directors Association 2020-12-11 End-of-life care

    Mortality of the residents living in NHs with COVID-19 was almost 45%.

  5. Cognitive disorders associated with hospitalization of COVID-19: Results from an observational cohort study

    ✓ Peer-reviewed alzhub usefulness score 55 out of 100. Brain, behavior, and immunity 2020-10-24 Long-term cohort studies

    Our understanding of risk factors for COVID‑19, including pre-existing medical conditions and genetic variations, is limited.

    Why it matters

    This observational study examined whether pre-existing medical conditions and genetic factors are linked to COVID-19 status, including cognitive disorders. It does not show that preventing or treating COVID-19 prevents or treats Alzheimer's disease.

  6. A total of 887 (69.5%) participants reported incident difficulty in at least one IADL task category.

  7. Digital biomarker-based individualized prognosis for people at risk of dementia

    ✓ Peer-reviewed alzhub usefulness score 55 out of 100. Alzheimer's & dementia (Amsterdam, Netherlands) 2020-08-19 Digital health tools

    Digital biomarker prognostic models can be a useful tool to assist large-scale population screening for the early detection of cognitive impairment and patient monitoring over time.

    Why it matters

    This validation study found that digital biomarker-based prognostic models could discriminate between healthy subjects and individuals at risk of progressing to dementia within 3 years. The models could also differentiate people with or without amyloid neuropathology and classify fast and slow cognitive decliners.

  8. Withdrawal of Life-supporting Treatment in Severe Traumatic Brain Injury

    ✓ Peer-reviewed alzhub usefulness score 55 out of 100. JAMA surgery 2020-08-01 Disparities

    Black patients (4806 [13.2%]; odds ratio [OR], 0.66; 95% CI, 0.59-0.72; P Conclusions and relevance Withdrawal of LST is common in sTBI and socioeconomic factors are associated with the decision to withdraw LST.

    Why it matters

    In this large database study of severe traumatic brain injury, withdrawal of life-supporting treatment was common and was associated with socioeconomic factors including race, payment and region. It concerns decision-making in traumatic brain injury and does not test any treatment, cure or prevention for Alzheimer's disease.

  9. Prediction of dementia risk in low-income and middle-income countries (the 10/66 Study): an independent external validation of existing models

    ✓ Peer-reviewed alzhub usefulness score 55 out of 100. The Lancet. Global health 2020-04-01 Long-term cohort studies

    However, most people with dementia live in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs), where dementia risk prediction research is almost non-existent and the ability of current models to predict dementia is unknown.

    Why it matters

    This study tested whether dementia prediction models developed in high-income countries work in low-income and middle-income countries. It is about validating prediction models and does not test any treatment, cure, or prevention.

  10. Hospital Transfer Rates Among US Nursing Home Residents With Advanced Illness Before and After Initiatives to Reduce Hospitalizations

    ✓ Peer-reviewed alzhub usefulness score 55 out of 100. JAMA internal medicine 2020-03-01 End-of-life care

    The findings of this study suggest that concurrent with new initiatives aimed at reducing hospitalizations, hospital transfers declined between 2011 and 2017 among nursing home residents with advanced illnesses without increased mortality rates.

  11. Prognostic Awareness, Disease and Palliative Understanding Among Caregivers of Patients With Dementia

    ✓ Peer-reviewed alzhub usefulness score 55 out of 100. The American journal of hospice & palliative care 2019-12-19 End-of-life care

    Prognostic discussions between caregivers of PwD and the PwD's physicians may be occurring more often; however, a high percentage of caregivers report a poor understanding about the terminal nature of dementia and the role of PC.

  12. Evaluating the reliability of neurocognitive biomarkers of neurodegenerative diseases across countries: A machine learning approach

    ✓ Peer-reviewed alzhub usefulness score 55 out of 100. NeuroImage 2019-12-10 Digital health tools

    Accurate early diagnosis of neurodegenerative diseases represents a growing challenge for current clinical practice.

    Why it matters

    Machine learning using cognitive scores and brain atrophy measures classified Alzheimer's disease and behavioral variant frontotemporal dementia across three countries, with the best predictions when cognitive screening and atrophy levels were combined. This supports using these tools to help diagnose these conditions, but it does not show any treatment, cure or prevention.

  13. Effects of Digital Device Ownership on Cognitive Decline in a Middle-Aged and Elderly Population: Longitudinal Observational Study

    ✓ Peer-reviewed alzhub usefulness score 55 out of 100. Journal of medical Internet research 2019-07-29 Digital health tools

    Adjusted for demographic and health behavior as well as health condition risk factors, desktop and cellphone ownership were independently associated with subsequent decreased cognitive decline over the four-year period.

    Why it matters

    In a longitudinal study, owning a desktop and cellphone was associated with less cognitive decline over four years in middle-aged and older adults. This is an observational association and does not show that digital devices treat, cure or prevent dementia.

  14. A longitudinal study of speech production in primary progressive aphasia and behavioral variant frontotemporal dementia

    ✓ Peer-reviewed alzhub usefulness score 55 out of 100. Brain and language 2019-05-07 Digital health tools

    We examined longitudinal change in language expression during a semi-structured speech sample in 48 patients with primary progressive aphasia (PPA) or behavioral variant frontotemporal dementia (bvFTD) and related this to longitudinal neuroimaging of cortical thickness available in 25 of these patients.

    Why it matters

    In this longitudinal study, all patient groups declined significantly on measures of speech fluency and grammar, with nonfluent/agrammatic PPA declining more than other variants and bvFTD. Decline in grammaticality was linked to progression of gray matter atrophy in left frontal operculum/insula and bilateral temporal cortex, but there was no correlation between speech decline and neuropsychological performance decline.

  15. Balance between innate versus adaptive immune system and the risk of dementia: a population-based cohort study

    ✓ Peer-reviewed alzhub usefulness score 55 out of 100. Journal of neuroinflammation 2019-03-30 Long-term cohort studies

    Immunity has been suggested to be important in the pathogenesis of dementia.

    Why it matters

    This study investigated whether blood cell counts and ratios reflecting innate versus adaptive immunity were associated with risk of dementia. It does not show that altering immune balance prevents or treats dementia, and the findings are from an observational cohort.

  16. Cigarette smoking and gray matter brain volumes in middle age adults: the CARDIA Brain MRI sub-study

    ✓ Peer-reviewed alzhub usefulness score 55 out of 100. Translational psychiatry 2019-02-11 Disparities

    Cigarette smoking has been associated with dementia and dementia-related brain changes, notably gray matter (GM) volume atrophy.

    Why it matters

    Current smokers had smaller total gray matter brain volume than never-smokers at middle age, and this association was strongest in alcohol users. The study looked at brain volume, not dementia itself, so it does not show that smoking causes dementia or that quitting prevents it.

  17. Adherence to a Mediterranean Diet Protects from Cognitive Decline in the Invecchiare in Chianti Study of Aging

    ✓ Peer-reviewed alzhub usefulness score 55 out of 100. Nutrients 2018-12-19 Prevention trials

    Following a Mediterranean diet high in plant-based foods and fish, low in meat and dairy foods, and with moderate alcohol intake has been shown to promote healthy aging.

  18. Although air pollution is well known to be harmful to the lung and airways, it can also damage most other organ systems of the body.

    Why it matters

    This review states that air pollution is associated with reduced cognitive function and increased risk of dementia, among many other health harms. It suggests a possible risk factor but does not test any treatment, cure or prevention for Alzheimer's disease.

  19. Potentially Inappropriate Prescribing in Australian Nursing Home Residents with Advanced Dementia: A Substudy of the IDEAL Study

    ✓ Peer-reviewed alzhub usefulness score 55 out of 100. Journal of palliative medicine 2018-08-14 Treatments

    Use of potentially inappropriate medications in Australian nursing home residents with advanced dementia is common.

    Why it matters

    This substudy found that about 30% of nursing home residents with advanced dementia received at least one medication classed as never appropriate, most commonly lipid-lowering agents, antiplatelet agents and acetylcholinesterase inhibitors. It is about prescribing quality in advanced dementia, not about treating, curing or preventing Alzheimer's disease.

  20. Prevalence of dementia in mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan: an updated systematic review and meta-analysis

    ✓ Peer-reviewed alzhub usefulness score 55 out of 100. International journal of epidemiology 2018-06-01 Prevention and risk

    Geographical variation in dementia prevalence is confirmed in this update, whereas evidence on increasing trends is still insufficient.

    Why it matters

    This systematic review and meta-analysis updated estimates of dementia prevalence in mainland China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan, finding regional variation and an estimated 9.5 million people with dementia in these areas. It provides prevalence data only and does not address treating, curing, or preventing Alzheimer's disease.

  21. Cognition and dementia in older patients with epilepsy

    ✓ Peer-reviewed alzhub usefulness score 55 out of 100. Brain : a journal of neurology 2018-06-01 Brain tissue and pathology

    With advances in healthcare and an ageing population, the number of older adults with epilepsy is set to rise substantially across the world.

    Why it matters

    This review reports that older people with epilepsy are more likely to have cognitive dysfunction and that there may be a bidirectional relationship between epilepsy and dementia. It raises the possibility that some people with epilepsy may be at higher risk of dementia but provides no treatment, cure or prevention.

  22. Vascular cognitive impairment

    ✓ Peer-reviewed alzhub usefulness score 55 out of 100. Nature reviews. Disease primers 2018-02-15 Prevention and risk

    The term vascular cognitive impairment (VCI) was introduced around the start of the new millennium and refers to the contribution of vascular pathology to any severity of cognitive impairment, ranging from subjective cognitive decline and mild cognitive impairment to dementia.

    Why it matters

    This review states that the main treatment for vascular cognitive impairment at present is prevention by treating vascular diseases and other risk factors such as hypertension and diabetes mellitus. It notes a current paucity of disease-modifying pharmacological treatments, while foreseeing that specific brain diseases might eventually be targeted to prevent cognitive decline and dementia.

  23. The Role of Lifestyle Factors and Sleep Duration for Late-Onset Dementia: A Cohort Study

    ✓ Peer-reviewed alzhub usefulness score 55 out of 100. Journal of Alzheimer's disease : JAD 2018-01-01 Prevention trials

    This study found no evidence that major lifestyle factors, aside from smoking, or sleep duration influence the risk of dementia.

  24. Association Between Poor Cognitive Functioning and Risk of Incident Parkinsonism: The Rotterdam Study

    ✓ Peer-reviewed alzhub usefulness score 55 out of 100. JAMA neurology 2017-12-01 Long-term cohort studies

    Cognitive dysfunction is a common feature among patients with parkinsonism, including Parkinson disease (PD).

    Why it matters

    In 7,386 participants of the Rotterdam Study who were free of parkinsonism and dementia at baseline, poor cognitive functioning was assessed for its link to later parkinsonism. The study aimed to see if cognitive problems appear before a parkinsonism diagnosis, a stage when treatments might still be effective.

  25. Atrial fibrillation and cognitive decline in the Framingham Heart Study

    ✓ Peer-reviewed alzhub usefulness score 55 out of 100. Heart rhythm 2017-09-22 Long-term cohort studies

    There is a paucity of longitudinal research investigating the relations between atrial fibrillation (AF) and domain-specific cognitive performance.

    Why it matters

    This study investigated whether atrial fibrillation was associated with cognitive performance cross-sectionally and over time in the Framingham Heart Study. It does not show that treating atrial fibrillation prevents cognitive decline or dementia, and the results are observational.

From across this topic

10 of the 7,967 studies in this topic, picked by a fixed rule (a hash of each study's address), not by score or date; each page of this list shows a different 10. The same 10 appear here every time.

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