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.

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. State-dependent changes in hippocampal grey matter in depression

    ✓ Peer-reviewed alzhub usefulness score 50 out of 100. Molecular psychiatry 2012-11-06 Hippocampus size on brain scans

    Reduced hippocampal volume has been reported in depression and may be involved in the aetiology of depressive symptoms and vulnerability to depressive relapse.

  2. Prevalence of dementia and major dementia subtypes in the Chinese populations: a meta-analysis of dementia prevalence surveys, 1980-2010

    ✓ Peer-reviewed alzhub usefulness score 50 out of 100. Journal of clinical neuroscience : official journal of the Neurosurgical Society of Australasia 2012-06-08 Disparities

    The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of dementia and its major subtypes in China.

    Why it matters

    This meta-analysis estimated the prevalence of dementia and its major subtypes in China, finding total dementia prevalence of 3.0% in those aged 60 and older. It summarizes prevalence data only and does not test any treatment, cure or prevention.

  3. Childhood socioeconomic status and adult brain size: childhood socioeconomic status influences adult hippocampal size

    ✓ Peer-reviewed alzhub usefulness score 50 out of 100. Annals of neurology 2012-05-01 Hippocampus size on brain scans

    A significant association between childhood SES and hippocampal volumes in late life is consistent with the established neurodevelopmental findings that early life conditions have an effect on structural brain development.

  4. Modifiable factors that alter the size of the hippocampus with ageing

    ✓ Peer-reviewed alzhub usefulness score 50 out of 100. Nature reviews. Neurology 2012-03-13 Prevention and risk

    The hippocampus is particularly vulnerable to the neurotoxic effects of obesity, diabetes mellitus, hypertension, hypoxic brain injury, obstructive sleep apnoea, bipolar disorder, clinical depression and head trauma.

    Why it matters

    This review discusses factors such as obesity, diabetes, hypertension, and depression that are linked to smaller hippocampi and greater cognitive decline, and notes that observational studies and preliminary clinical trials suggest exercise, cognitive stimulation, and treatment of medical conditions may reverse or prevent hippocampal atrophy. The proposed 'dynamic polygon hypothesis' is an emerging concept, and the evidence comes from observational studies and preliminary trials rather than proven prevention.

  5. The disappearing subject: exclusion of people with cognitive impairment and dementia from geriatrics research

    ✓ Peer-reviewed alzhub usefulness score 50 out of 100. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society 2012-01-30 Cognitive tests and assessment

    All original research articles published in 2008 and 2009 in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society (n = 434) were reviewed using a structured data collection tool.

    Why it matters

    This review found that people with cognitive impairment are frequently excluded from geriatrics research. It is about research practices and inclusion, not about treating, curing or preventing Alzheimer's disease.

  6. Advanced dementia: state of the art and priorities for the next decade

    ✓ Peer-reviewed alzhub usefulness score 50 out of 100. Annals of internal medicine 2012-01-01 Disparities

    Dementia is a leading cause of death in the United States.

    Why it matters

    This article reviews current understanding of advanced dementia and sets out research priorities for the next decade, including better symptom treatment and more access to hospice and palliative care. It focuses on improving care for people who already have advanced dementia rather than on treating, curing, or preventing the disease.

  7. Hypertension prevalence, awareness, treatment and control among older people in Latin America, India and China: a 10/66 cross-sectional population-based survey

    ✓ Peer-reviewed alzhub usefulness score 50 out of 100. Journal of hypertension 2012-01-01 Disparities

    Hypertension prevalence was higher in urban (range 52.6-79.8%) than rural sites (range 42.6-56.9%), and lower in men than women [pooled prevalence ratio 0.89, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.85-0.93].

    Why it matters

    This survey found that uncontrolled hypertension is common among older people in developing countries and is a major determinant of population systolic blood pressure level. It reports no findings on whether treating hypertension affects Alzheimer's disease.

  8. Prestroke dementia is associated with poor outcomes after reperfusion therapy among elderly stroke patients

    ✓ Peer-reviewed alzhub usefulness score 50 out of 100. Journal of stroke and cerebrovascular diseases : the official journal of National Stroke Association 2011-12-17 End-of-life care

    Among the elderly, prestroke dementia is a powerful independent predictor of in-hospital mortality after acute reperfusion therapy for stroke.

  9. Usefulness of acute delirium as a predictor of adverse outcomes in patients >65 years of age with acute decompensated heart failure

    ✓ Peer-reviewed alzhub usefulness score 50 out of 100. The American journal of cardiology 2011-08-01 Clinical safety

    Delirium is an acute confusional state that is very prevalent in older patients hospitalized with acute decompensated heart failure (ADHF).

  10. Parkinson's disease progression at 30 years: a study of subthalamic deep brain-stimulated patients

    ✓ Peer-reviewed alzhub usefulness score 50 out of 100. Brain : a journal of neurology 2011-06-11 Clinical safety

    Clinical findings in Parkinson's disease suggest that most patients progressively develop disabling non-levodopa-responsive symptoms during the course of the disease.

  11. Incidence of and risk factors for dementia in the Ibadan study of aging

    ✓ Peer-reviewed alzhub usefulness score 50 out of 100. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society 2011-05-01 Disparities

    At 3-year follow-up, 85 participants had developed dementia.

    Why it matters

    This community cohort study in Nigeria found that the incidence of dementia was higher than previously reported and that indices of social isolation were risk factors. It identifies risk factors only and does not test any treatment, cure, or prevention.

  12. Parkinson's disease: the quintessential neuropsychiatric disorder

    ✓ Peer-reviewed alzhub usefulness score 50 out of 100. Movement disorders : official journal of the Movement Disorder Society 2011-05-01 Risk factors

    Although diagnosed by characteristic motor features, Parkinson's disease may be preceded, and is frequently accompanied by, a wide range of cognitive and neuropsychiatric features.

    Why it matters

    This review describes cognitive and neuropsychiatric features that commonly accompany Parkinson's disease, including dementia, depression, and psychosis. It notes that available drugs help manage these symptoms but responses are often suboptimal, and this remains an area of unmet therapeutic need.

  13. Behavioural-variant frontotemporal dementia: diagnosis, clinical staging, and management

    ✓ Peer-reviewed alzhub usefulness score 50 out of 100. The Lancet. Neurology 2010-12-10 Getting a diagnosis

    Patients with behavioural-variant frontotemporal dementia (bvFTD) present with insidious changes in personality and interpersonal conduct that indicate progressive disintegration of the neural circuits involved in social cognition, emotion regulation, motivation, and decision making.

    Why it matters

    This review describes how behavioural-variant frontotemporal dementia is diagnosed and staged, noting that current therapies are aimed at symptom relief. It does not report a treatment, cure or prevention for Alzheimer's disease.

  14. Cognitive dysfunction in HIV patients despite long-standing suppression of viremia

    ✓ Peer-reviewed alzhub usefulness score 50 out of 100. AIDS (London, England) 2010-06-01 How common it is

    Patients had undetectable HIV-1 RNA concentrations for a median time of 48 months (range 3.2-136.6).

    Why it matters

    In this group of HIV-positive patients with long-suppressed virus, HIV-associated neurocognitive disorders were common, though most cases had no impact on daily life. This concerns cognitive problems in HIV, not Alzheimer's disease treatment, cure, or prevention.

  15. Entering and Exiting the Medicare Part D Coverage Gap: Role of Comorbidities and Demographics

    ✓ Peer-reviewed alzhub usefulness score 50 out of 100. Journal of General Internal Medicine 2010-03-08 Health systems and care delivery

    Of enrollees, 15.9% entered the gap, 2.6% within the first 180 days; among gap enterers, only 6.7% exited again.

    Why it matters

    This study examines which Medicare Part D enrollees entered the coverage gap, where they pay more for their drugs, and found that people with dementia had a high gap entry rate. It does not test any treatment for Alzheimer's disease, but notes that dementia patients' drug costs before the gap were largely for anti-dementia and antipsychotic medications.

  16. Validation of the telephone interview for cognitive status-modified in subjects with normal cognition, mild cognitive impairment, or dementia

    ✓ Peer-reviewed alzhub usefulness score 50 out of 100. Neuroepidemiology 2009-11-05 Caregiving

    The extensive in-person assessment classified 83 persons with normal cognition, 42 persons with MCI, and 42 persons with dementia.

    Why it matters

    The telephone interview performed well for a broad yes-or-no classification of cognitive status but only fairly in separating mild cognitive impairment from normal cognition or dementia. It should not be used alone to identify mild cognitive impairment and should be used with caution to detect dementia.

  17. Hastening death in end-of-life care: a survey of doctors

    ✓ Peer-reviewed alzhub usefulness score 50 out of 100. Social science & medicine (1982) 2009-10-17 End-of-life care

    The application of medical technology to prolong life at the expense of quality of life is widely debated in end-of-life care.

  18. Quantitative gait analysis under dual-task in older people with mild cognitive impairment: a reliability study

    ✓ Peer-reviewed alzhub usefulness score 50 out of 100. Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitation 2009-09-21 Cognitive tests and assessment

    Reliability of quantitative gait assessment while dual-tasking (walking while doing a secondary task such as talking) in people with cognitive impairment is unknown.

    Why it matters

    This reliability study tested quantitative gait assessment while dual-tasking in 11 older people with mild cognitive impairment using an electronic walkway. It is about the reliability of a measurement method and does not test any treatment, so it says nothing about curing or preventing Alzheimer's disease.

  19. The Indiana Alzheimer Disease Center's Symposium on Mild Cognitive Impairment. Cognitive training in older adults: lessons from the ACTIVE Study

    ✓ Peer-reviewed alzhub usefulness score 50 out of 100. Current Alzheimer research 2009-08-01 Treatments

    This paper is based on a presentation made during the Indiana Alzheimer Disease Center's Symposium on Mild Cognitive Impairment on April 19, 2008.

    Why it matters

    In the ACTIVE study, cognitive training improved mental abilities and daily functioning in older adults at 5 years. A subgroup analysis found that people with mild cognitive impairment did not benefit from memory training but did benefit from reasoning and speed-of-processing training.

  20. Cognitive function in early Parkinson's disease: a population-based study

    ✓ Peer-reviewed alzhub usefulness score 50 out of 100. European journal of neurology 2009-06-15 Digital health tools

    Cognitive dysfunction is common in untreated patients in early PD, affecting attention, psychomotor function, episodic memory, executive function and category fluency.

    Why it matters

    This population-based study found that 30% of newly diagnosed Parkinson's disease patients had deficits in at least one cognitive domain, while 70% performed normally. It is about cognitive function in early Parkinson's disease, not about treating, curing or preventing Alzheimer's disease.

  21. Recovery of activities of daily living in older adults after hospitalization for acute medical illness

    ✓ Peer-reviewed alzhub usefulness score 50 out of 100. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society 2008-12-01 Caregiving

    By 12 months after discharge, of those discharged with new or additional ADL disability, 41.3% died, 28.6% were alive but had not recovered to baseline function, and 30.1% were at baseline function.

    Why it matters

    Older adults who left the hospital with new difficulty in basic self-care activities often did not regain their previous function a year later. This concerns recovery after hospitalization, not the treatment, cure or prevention of Alzheimer's disease.

  22. Spouses' Effectiveness as End-of-Life Health Care Surrogates: Accuracy, Uncertainty, and Errors of Overtreatment or Undertreatment

    ✓ Peer-reviewed alzhub usefulness score 50 out of 100. The Gerontologist 2008-12-01 Health systems and care delivery

    Surrogates were accurate in the majority of cases, made errors in 12% to 22% of cases, and were uncertain in 11% to 16% of cases.

    Why it matters

    This study examined how accurately spouses predicted what their partners would want for end-of-life health care, finding they were accurate most of the time but made errors in 12% to 22% of cases. It does not test any treatment, cure, or prevention of Alzheimer's disease.

  23. The COACH prompting system to assist older adults with dementia through handwashing: an efficacy study

    ✓ Peer-reviewed alzhub usefulness score 50 out of 100. BMC geriatrics 2008-11-07 Digital health tools

    The COACH system shows promise as a tool to help support older adults with moderate-levels of dementia and their caregivers.

    Why it matters

    In six older adults with moderate-to-severe dementia, the COACH prompting system helped participants complete an average of 11% more handwashing steps independently and required 60% fewer human caregiver interactions. This small study addresses assistance with daily activities, not treating, curing, or preventing Alzheimer's disease.

  24. Determinants of burden in those who care for someone with dementia

    ✓ Peer-reviewed alzhub usefulness score 50 out of 100. International journal of geriatric psychiatry 2008-10-01 Caregiving

    These results confirm previous correlational research on caregiver burden.

    Why it matters

    In 74 patients with dementia and their main caregivers in England, a multiple regression analysis examined which factors predicted caregiver burden. The study is cross-sectional, so it can show associations but not cause and effect, and it does not test any treatment for Alzheimer's disease.

  25. Longitudinal changes in memory and executive functioning are associated with longitudinal change in instrumental activities of daily living in older adults

    ✓ Peer-reviewed alzhub usefulness score 50 out of 100. The Clinical neuropsychologist 2008-09-23 Caregiving

    Impaired everyday function is a diagnostic criterion for dementia, and a determinant of healthcare utilization and caregiver burden.

    Why it matters

    In 100 older adults followed for about five years, declines in memory and executive functioning were each independently linked to declines in everyday functioning. This describes how cognitive change relates to daily life over time and does not test any treatment, cure, or prevention.

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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