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.
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The CANTAB battery was administered to a large group (n = 787) of elderly volunteers in the age range from 55 to 80 years.
Why it matters
This factor analytic study administered the Cambridge Neuropsychological Test Automated Battery to 787 normal elderly volunteers aged 55 to 80. The battery has been used in the assessment of various forms of dementia and validated on patients with neurosurgical lesions of the frontal and temporal lobes.
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Patients with progressive dementia invariably evolve to a stage where they can no longer be tested by standard neuropsychological tests.
Why it matters
This study looked at a test called the Severe Impairment Battery for patients whose dementia is too advanced for standard tests. It is about measuring thinking in late-stage disease, not about treating, curing or preventing Alzheimer's disease.
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55/100
L-deprenyl did appear to have a slight effect on a single measure of psychopathology, the BPRS.
Why it matters
In this 15-month trial of 39 people with mild dementia of the Alzheimer type, L-deprenyl produced a significantly lower total score on one psychiatric rating scale but no effect on any other clinical or neuropsychological measure. The authors conclude it did not appear to slow the progression of the disease.
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Dementia was present in nearly a third of unselected 85-year-olds in Sweden.
Why it matters
Of 494 85-year-olds examined in Gothenburg, Sweden, 29.8% had dementia (8.3% mild, 10.3% moderate, 11.1% severe), with no significant difference between men and women. Using CT-informed criteria, 46.9% of cases were classed as vascular dementia and 43.5% as Alzheimer's disease, and three-year death rates were 66.7% and 42.2% respectively versus 23.1% in those without dementia. This is a one-city snapshot that tested no treatment; the authors' suggestion that vascular dementia "may currently be more amenable to prevention or treatment" is a hypothesis, not a finding.
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55/100
We determined the frequency of dementia in a cohort of 251 patients aged greater than or equal to 60 years hospitalized with acute ischemic stroke, based on examinations performed 3 months after stroke onset.
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Few detailed clinico-pathological correlations of Parkinson's disease have been published.
Why it matters
Brain examination after death of 100 people diagnosed in life with Parkinson's disease found no Lewy bodies in 24, whose diagnoses included progressive supranuclear palsy, Alzheimer's disease and vascular disease. Applying recommended diagnostic criteria in hindsight improved diagnostic accuracy to 82%.
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55/100
We determined the prevalence of dementia and probable senile dementia of the Alzheimer type (SDAT) for biennial Exam 17 of the Framingham cohort (1982/1983).
Why it matters
At the Framingham cohort's 1982/1983 examination, about 30.5 in every 1,000 men and 48.2 in every 1,000 women had dementia, and probable Alzheimer-type dementia ("SDAT") made up 55.6% of those cases (11.7 per 1,000 men, 30.1 per 1,000 women); both rose with age. Among people aged 75 and older, women had 1.8 times the prevalence of dementia and 2.8 times the prevalence of probable SDAT seen in men. This is a one-time count of existing cases in one cohort, not a measure of an individual's risk, and it does not test any treatment or prevention.
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We have prospectively followed over a 5-year period 434 volunteers who were at intake ambulatory, functional, presumably nondemented, and between 75 and 85 years of age.
Why it matters
Over 5 years of follow-up, 56 of 434 volunteers aged 75 to 85 developed a progressive dementia, including 32 with Alzheimer's disease (2.0 per 100 person-years). Age over 80 and female sex were the risk factors for Alzheimer's in this group, while family history, prior head injury, thyroid disease, maternal age and smoking were not; prior stroke was the main risk factor for vascular or mixed dementia. The strongest predictor was the score on a 33-item mental status test at entry: people making 0–2 errors developed Alzheimer's at under 0.6% a year, against over 12% a year for those making 5–8 errors. These are associations among volunteers, not evidence that any factor causes or prevents dementia.
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The efficacy of the dopaminergic substance Memantine was studied in severe cases of senile dementia of the Alzheimer type using a randomized single blind trial.
Why it matters
In this small single-blind trial of 20 patients with severe Alzheimer's disease, memantine given intravenously showed no significant differences from placebo. This early study did not find a treatment benefit.
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55/100
Why it matters
A short test of mental state, used to screen for and measure cognitive impairment. It is a measuring tool rather than a therapy: it does not itself treat, slow or cure Alzheimer's disease.
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Overall, 92.7% of the original cohort members participated in at least one follow-up round and 87.2% participated in at least two (balanced by deworming treatment status).
Why it matters
This cohort profile describes participation rates and demographic characteristics of the Kenya Life Panel Survey compared with national Kenyan samples. It does not report any treatment, cure, or prevention for Alzheimer's disease.
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For VA and Medicare cohorts, dementia diagnosis was absent in 88.7% and 80.5%, respectively, of follow-up encounters in the other system.
Why it matters
This study looked at how often dementia diagnoses were missing across VA, traditional Medicare and Medicare Advantage records for patients using more than one system. It found diagnoses were frequently absent in the other system's records, which is about record consistency rather than treating or curing dementia.
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This study included 17,182 participants with a mean age of 69.2 ± 10.6 years, 59.2% of which were women.
Why it matters
This cohort found sex differences in the prevalence of many dementia risk factors and in how strongly some factors related to cognitive performance. It suggests prevention strategies may need to be personalized by sex, but it does not show that targeting these factors prevents dementia.
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Guidelines recommend limiting antipsychotic treatment to short-term use ( Methods Using UK primary care data from the Clinical Practice Research Datalink, linked with hospital and mortality data from Jan 1, 1998, to March 31, 2021, we emulated two sets of target trials, one after 12 weeks of antipsychotic treatment and another after 24 weeks of antipsychotic treatment, to compare continuing treatment versus tapering treatment and continuing treatment versus abrupt discontinuation of treatment.
Why it matters
This analysis of UK primary care data found that tapering antipsychotics after 12 weeks of treatment was linked to lower estimated risks of delirium and fracture compared with continuing treatment. This supports guidance to limit antipsychotic use to short-term treatment in older adults with dementia.
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Undiagnosed dementia is common and associated with increased mortality, identifying a vulnerable population missed by current diagnostic pathways.
Why it matters
This study found that 76.1% of dementia cases in Brazil and 45.1% in the United States were undiagnosed. People with undiagnosed dementia had higher 4-year mortality than those without dementia in both countries, which the authors say identifies a vulnerable group missed by current diagnostic pathways.
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Both groups exhibited significant, transient microbiome remodeling at Year 1 (the period of most active weight loss).
Why it matters
In this randomized controlled trial, caloric restriction, weight loss and host metabolic improvement were the dominant factors shaping the intestinal microbiome, overshadowing diet-specific changes. The MIND diet's associations with microbial function did not persist in covariate-adjusted models, so no clear cognitive benefit from the diet was established.
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Dementia prevalence was 22%, with 35% undiagnosed.
Why it matters
Brief bedside cognitive screening detected dementia with good accuracy and identified patients at higher risk of delirium, hospital-associated disability, and 90-day mortality. This supports integrating screening into routine hospital care, but it is a detection tool rather than a treatment or cure.
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This narrative review integrates longitudinal cohort studies, neuroimaging and biomarker research, and major clinical trials to examine how depression and cognitive decline interact across the dementia continuum.
Why it matters
This review found that late-life depression increases the risk of mild cognitive impairment and dementia, with stronger associations for vascular dementia than Alzheimer's disease. It also notes that current trial data provide insufficient evidence about whether emerging Alzheimer's therapies affect depressive symptoms.
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Dementia presents an escalating public health challenge worldwide.
Why it matters
This narrative review examines associations between psychiatric disorders such as depression, anxiety and PTSD and later neurocognitive decline, and discusses possible mechanisms and psychopharmacological effects. It summarizes existing evidence and does not report a new treatment or cure.
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54/100
Eight studies comprising 984 patients met inclusion criteria.
Why it matters
This review of eight studies with 984 patients found that deep brain stimulation does not appear to significantly worsen cognitive decline in Parkinson's disease patients with mild cognitive impairment beyond expected disease progression. It concerns a Parkinson's treatment and cognitive outcomes, not treating, curing or preventing Alzheimer's disease.
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In this cohort of 2022 insulin-treated older adults with diabetes and ADRD (1011 CGM users and 1011 SMBG users; mean [SD] age, 76.4 [6.7] years; 1133 female [56.0%]), CGM use was significantly associated with lower risk of all-cause hospitalization (hazard ratio [HR], 0.86; 95% CI, 0.76-0.96) and mortality (HR, 0.57; 95% CI, 0.48-0.67) compared with SMBG use.
Why it matters
In this cohort of insulin-treated older adults with diabetes and Alzheimer's disease and related dementias, continuous glucose monitoring use was associated with lower risk of all-cause hospitalization and mortality compared with self-monitoring of blood glucose. The authors say pragmatic trials are needed to validate these findings and assess feasibility in this population.
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The primary outcome of this study will be the total score on the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MOCA).
Why it matters
This randomized controlled trial will assess the effects of a multi-dimensional cognitive intervention in Parkinson's disease patients with mild cognitive impairment and subjective cognitive decline. The trial is ongoing and no results are reported yet.
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We are currently in the recruitment and data collection phase.
Why it matters
This is a protocol for a study measuring delirium severity in intensive care, and it is still recruiting participants. No findings are available yet, and delirium is not the same as Alzheimer's disease.
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Cardiovascular diseases are the leading cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide.
Why it matters
This review describes arterial stiffness as an independent risk factor for cardiovascular disease and a potential target for personalised prevention and therapy, and lists vascular dementia among the types of end-organ damage it can cause. It is a review of mechanisms and does not report any trial showing that reducing arterial stiffness prevents dementia.
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The MAINTAIN intervention demonstrated high fidelity in home assessments and intervention delivery, with participants receiving a mean of 15 of the 22 available sessions with a range of 5-25 sessions.
Why it matters
This process evaluation found the MAINTAIN home-based intervention for people with dementia after a fall was feasible and acceptable, with most participants achieving functional goals and reporting improved confidence. It evaluates delivery of a falls intervention and does not test whether it treats, cures, or prevents Alzheimer's disease.
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.
- Ground robot technologies in wildfire risk reduction. The viewpoint of the fire service
- Geriatric congenital heart disease: burden of disease and predictors of mortality
- Music therapy in health care practice: promise, pitfalls, and policy implications
- The worldwide costs of dementia in 2019
- Prevalence, timing and characteristics of delirium preceding dementia with Lewy bodies: a retrospective case series
- Preinjury physical frailty and cognitive impairment among geriatric trauma patients determine postinjury functional recovery and survival
- Blots on a field?
- Trends in Assisted Living and Memory Care Supply From 2019 to 2023
- The many faces of corticobasal degeneration
- The advanced dementia prognostic tool: a risk score to estimate survival in nursing home residents with advanced dementia