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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53/100
With the rising dementia population, more and more programs have been developed to help caregivers deal with the care-recipient as well as their own frustrations.
Why it matters
This review reports that psychotherapeutic techniques, especially cognitive-behavioral therapy and psychoeducation with psychotherapeutic programs, are increasingly used to reduce caregiver distress and can be delivered in groups or through technology. It addresses caregiver support, not treating, curing, or preventing Alzheimer's disease itself.
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From an ethical perspective, important benefits of embodied AI applications in mental health include new modes of treatment, opportunities to engage hard-to-reach populations, better patient response, and freeing up time for physicians.
Why it matters
This paper discusses ethical implications of embodied artificial intelligence in psychiatry, psychology, and psychotherapy, noting benefits such as new modes of treatment and freeing up physician time. It does not address treating, curing, or preventing Alzheimer's disease.
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The prevalence of obesity has increased worldwide in the past ~50 years, reaching pandemic levels.
Why it matters
Obesity is described as a major health challenge that raises the risk of many diseases, including dementia. Long-term prevention and treatment strategies have not been successful, and the review calls for combining individual approaches with environmental and societal changes.
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53/100
Fibroblast growth factor 23 is an emerging vascular biomarker, recently associated with cerebral small vessel disease and poor cognition in patients on dialysis.
Why it matters
In a community-based group of older adults, this study examined whether blood levels of fibroblast growth factor 23 (FGF23) were linked to new cases of dementia or cognitive problems. It is about a possible risk marker and does not test any treatment, cure, or prevention.
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Among 45 029 participants undergoing cognitive assessment, mean (SD) age was 67.9 (8.0) years; 80.7% were men.
Why it matters
This study found that vascular events such as stroke were associated with years of cognitive aging, but the expected cognitive benefit from statin therapy over 5 years was too small to detect in the trial. It suggests that any cognitive benefit from preventing vascular events in such trials may be too small to measure, and it does not show that statins treat, cure, or prevent Alzheimer's disease.
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Reliable population estimates of life expectancy with dementia are required for shaping health-care policy.
Why it matters
This population-based study estimated life expectancy with and without dementia and assessed the effect of postponing disease onset. It is about planning health care and does not show that any specific treatment or prevention works.
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Inpatient PCC reduces 30-day readmissions and inpatient mortality with the greatest impact demonstrated within six days of hospital admission.
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Purpose of study To assess trends in family caregiving between 1999 and 2015.
Why it matters
This study of national surveys from 1999 to 2015 found that caregiving arrangements lasted longer over time, with more than half lasting four years or longer by 2015. Dementia caregivers were less likely to report substantial physical and financial difficulty and more likely to use respite care.
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Systemic vascular health has significant impact on brain structure and function.
Why it matters
Systemic vascular health was associated with medial temporal lobe thinning, widespread cerebral hypoperfusion and loss of microstructural integrity in several white matter tracts, and one measure predicted cognitive performance. This is about developing an MRI biomarker for cerebrovascular health in cognitive aging, not about treating, curing or preventing Alzheimer's disease.
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Cognitive dysfunction is increasingly recognized as an important comorbidity of diabetes mellitus.
Why it matters
This 2018 review separates mild, slowly progressing thinking changes, which it says occur with diabetes at all ages, from mild cognitive impairment and dementia, which occur "primarily in older individuals (>65 years of age)" and are its focus. It reports that the risk of clinically diagnosed Alzheimer's and of vascular dementia is increased in association with diabetes, while the brain's burden of Alzheimer's hallmark tangles and plaques is not, and it concludes that in most patients the cognitive problems probably have "multiple aetiologies". It tests no treatment, and says targeted treatment and prevention will depend on further research linking laboratory and clinical work.
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Improving quality and delivery of care for people with Alzheimer disease and related dementias (ADRD) requires a comprehensive research agenda that encompasses the entire care continuum.
Why it matters
This paper describes a procedural framework for obtaining informed consent from hospitalized people with dementia for a minimal risk care intervention. It does not test any treatment for Alzheimer's disease.
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53/100
Rapid eye movement (REM) sleep behaviour disorder (RBD) is a parasomnia that is characterized by loss of muscle atonia during REM sleep (known as REM sleep without atonia, or RSWA) and abnormal behaviours occurring during REM sleep, often as dream enactments that can cause injury.
Why it matters
This review describes REM sleep behaviour disorder, which is linked to neurological diseases including dementia with Lewy bodies, and notes that most older adults with the idiopathic form will eventually develop an overt neurodegenerative syndrome. The authors say future studies will likely test neuroprotective therapies in these patients, so no treatment or prevention is established yet.
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Observational studies have shown consistently increased likelihood of dementia or mild cognitive impairment diagnoses in people with higher air pollution exposure history, but evidence has been less consistent for associations with cognitive test performance.
Why it matters
This study examined associations between outdoor air pollution exposure and cognitive test performance in UK Biobank participants. It reports observational associations and does not show that reducing air pollution treats, cures, or prevents Alzheimer's disease.
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53/100
Claims and structured EHR data give an incomplete picture of burden related to geriatric syndromes.
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Preliminary evidence was found to support communication interventions for people with moderate-severe dementia.
Why it matters
This review of 11 studies found that speech-language pathologist interventions generally produced positive changes in communication and related quality of life in moderate-severe dementia. It concerns management of communication, not curing or preventing the disease.
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Our review shows that picture description tasks are useful tools for detecting differences in a wide variety of language and communicative measures.
Why it matters
This review examined studies using picture description tasks to assess connected speech and language in mild cognitive impairment and Alzheimer's disease. It is about understanding how language difficulties appear in everyday communication, not about treating, curing or preventing the disease.
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This study is the first clinical trial to examine the efficacy of combined physical and cognitive exercise on cognitive function in older ICU survivors with delirium.
Why it matters
This is a study protocol for a trial testing combined physical exercise and cognitive training in older ICU survivors who experienced delirium, so no results are available. It aims to see whether this combination affects cognitive function and mechanisms of action, not to treat or cure established Alzheimer's disease.
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Intravitam PET and postmortem studies have revealed a more pronounced cortical atrophy, elevated cortical and limbic Lewy body pathologies, higher Aβ and tau loads in cortex and striatum in DLB compared to PDD, and earlier cognitive defects in DLB.
Why it matters
This paper compares dementia with Lewy bodies and Parkinson's disease dementia, reporting more cortical atrophy and higher Lewy body, Aβ, and tau loads in DLB. It is about disease classification and pathology, not about treating, curing, or preventing Alzheimer's disease.
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In the following brief report, we examined gender differences in incidence rates of any dementia, Alzheimer's disease (AD) alone, and non-Alzheimer's dementia alone in 16,926 women and men in the Swedish Twin Registry aged 65+.
Why it matters
This study found that dementia and Alzheimer's disease were more common in women than men, which the authors say fits with women living to older ages. It describes patterns of who develops dementia and does not test any treatment or prevention.
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Design diagnostic accuracy study.
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The BHA had excellent combined sensitivity and specificity to detect dementia and MCI, including MCI due to diverse etiologies.
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This study indicates the need to provide nurses and nursing assistants with more information about palliative care practice for people with advanced dementia.
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The findings from this study have the potential to significantly enhance efforts to ameliorate cognitive aging and slow dementia.
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Although the use of hormone therapy to prevent chronic conditions in postmenopausal women is associated with some benefits, there are also well-documented harms.
Why it matters
The US Preventive Services Task Force concluded that combined estrogen and progestin has no net benefit for preventing chronic conditions in postmenopausal women and that harms are well documented. It therefore does not support hormone therapy as a way to prevent dementia or other chronic conditions.
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.
- The role of artificial intelligence in hypertension management
- Rivastigmine for the treatment of dementia and visual hallucinations associated with Parkinson's disease: a case series
- Longitudinal changes in memory and executive functioning are associated with longitudinal change in instrumental activities of daily living in older adults
- Gender and incidence of dementia in the Framingham Heart Study from mid-adult life
- Mild cognitive impairment: ten years later
- Body Mass Index and Decline in Cognitive Function in Older Black and White Persons
- Caffeine as a protective factor in dementia and Alzheimer's disease
- Equity in the delivery of community healthcare to older people: findings from 10/66 Dementia Research Group cross-sectional surveys in Latin America, China, India and Nigeria
- Cognitive status correlates with neuropathologic stage in Parkinson disease
- Analysis of Japanese nationwide health datasets: association between lifestyle habits and prevalence of neuropathic pain and fibromyalgia with reference to dementia-related diseases and Parkinson's disease