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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Population studies indicate that subjective memory complaints by elderly people are correlated with cognitive performance.
Why it matters
This study examined whether subjective memory complaints in elderly people predict future dementia and what factors determine those complaints. It is about prediction and risk, not about treating, curing or preventing Alzheimer's disease.
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The objectives of this study were to assess whether Teng's modification of the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) improves its performance as a screening test for cognitive impairment and dementia, and to replicate this comparison in French and English language groups, and for differing assumptions concerning the relative importance of false negative and false positive errors.
Why it matters
In this community screening study, the modified Mini-Mental State Exam (3MS) had higher internal consistency and a larger area under the ROC curve for identifying dementia than the original MMSE. It compares two screening tests and does not test any treatment, cure, or prevention for Alzheimer's disease.
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In recent years, patients who are at high risk for developing Alzheimer's disease (AD) have become a focus of study.
Why it matters
Over up to 5 years at the Mayo Clinic, the authors followed more than 75 patients from general medical care who complained of poor memory and scored abnormally low on memory tests for their age, but whose other thinking skills and daily activities were normal and who did not have dementia. Roughly 10% to 15% of them a year appeared to develop Alzheimer's disease, and carrying the APOE ε4 gene variant was the strongest predictor of who progressed, ahead of their scores on learning and memory tests. It is a single-clinic group with no stated limitations or effect sizes, so the figures show risk across the group and do not predict what will happen to any one person.
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A preplanned analysis of data collected during the second (1991) and the third (1995) follow-up of the Italian rural cohorts of the FINE Study (Finland, Italy, the Netherlands Elderly).
Why it matters
This study tested whether the Clock Drawing Test can predict cognitive decline in older men over four years, independent of the Mini-Mental State Examination. It suggests the Clock Drawing Test may help identify people at higher risk of cognitive decline, which is about prediction rather than treatment or cure.
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47/100
Diffuse aspiration bronchiolitis (DAB) is a new term that we proposed to define a clinical entity that is characterized by a chronic inflammation of bronchioles caused by recurrent aspiration of foreign particles.
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Caregivers most frequently cite deteriorating patient conditions as the main causes of ending home care.
Why it matters
Caregivers who ended home care because of placement or death of their relative with dementia had improved functioning, quality of life, and health compared with those still providing home care. This concerns caregiver outcomes, not the treatment, cure, or prevention of dementia.
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Stroke is considered the second most common cause of dementia, but the magnitude of the risk posed by stroke has not been fully clarified.
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Both severity ("how far") and rate of deterioration ("how fast") influence time to NHA and death.
Why it matters
This study found that dementia severity, rate of deterioration, and caregiver psychological morbidity significantly influenced rates of nursing home admission and death. Training of caregivers was significantly associated with delayed nursing home admission and reduced mortality.
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This suggests that for many antipsychotic drug users benefits may be marginal and that programs to reduce such drug use among the 250,000 US nursing home residents receiving these drugs should have high priority.
Why it matters
An education program for nursing home staff reduced the use of antipsychotic drugs given for behavioral symptoms of dementia, without an increase in behavior problems. This suggests that for many residents these drugs may offer limited benefit and that programs to reduce their use should be a high priority.
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We describe the full history and postmortem findings in one of the first identified cases of mitochondrial encephalomyopathy with stroke-like episodes (MELAS).
Why it matters
This paper describes diagnostic criteria for mitochondrial encephalomyopathy with stroke-like episodes, a syndrome that can include dementia. It notes that not all patients with clinical MELAS have the typical mitochondrial DNA point mutation and some patients with the mutation have other clinical syndromes.
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Circadian rhythms in elderly patients with severe dementia and behavioral disorders such as wandering, agitation and/or delirium were examined.
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To assess the occurrence and related features of motor vehicle crashes in patients with dementia of the Alzheimer type (DAT) we studied 30 patients who had been followed longitudinally and 20 healthy age-matched control subjects.
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Enhanced cued recall provides a simple and clinically useful memory test for identifying dementia in the elderly.
Why it matters
Tests enhanced cued recall, a memory test, as a way to screen for dementia in 70 older people. Across this and an earlier study it correctly classified 97% of 120 people, and it separated people with and without dementia more accurately than free recall or recognition.
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In neither group have we found any association with prematurely grey hair, hypertension, diabetes, pernicious anaemia, or thyroid disorder.
Why it matters
This study found no association between young onset Parkinson's disease and prematurely grey hair, hypertension, diabetes, pernicious anaemia, or thyroid disorder. It reports no findings about treating, curing, or preventing Alzheimer's disease.
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Sleep and waking EEGs from 11 healthy nondemented elderly men and from ten inpatients for whom the diagnosis was probable senile dementia of Alzheimer's type (SDAT), were monitored in the subjects' typical home or ward environments or in the sleep laboratory, according to their customary sleep schedules.
Why it matters
This small study found that patients with probable senile dementia of Alzheimer's type had less Stage 3 sleep, no Stage 4 sleep, very little REM sleep and more fragmented sleep-waking rhythms than healthy elderly controls. It is a descriptive comparison of sleep and EEG patterns and reports no treatment, cure or prevention.
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Sleep, EEG and mental function variables were studied in 44 subjects diagnosed as having probable senile dementia of the Alzheimer's type (SDAT) and 22 controls matched for age and minimal depression.
Why it matters
In 44 people with probable senile dementia of the Alzheimer's type and 22 controls, sleep, EEG and mental function measures changed even in early mild dementia and worsened with severity. The study shows these measures can help classify early dementia but does not test any treatment or cure.
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46/100
Alzheimer's disease (AD) develops over a prolonged asymptomatic phase marked by silent pathology.
Why it matters
In 102 older adults followed for about 5.9 years, this study found that blood and imaging biomarkers including plasma Aβ42/40, p-tau217, and tau PET each predicted higher risk of progressing to MCI, while hippocampal volume did not. Elevated alpha power predicted short-term risk but weakened over time, supporting a time-sensitive framework for individualized risk prediction in preclinical Alzheimer's disease.
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Loneliness, distinct from social isolation, is a subjective sense of social disconnection exacerbating a public health crisis among older adults.
Why it matters
This review reports that loneliness is associated with a 50%-59% higher risk of dementia and that interventions such as CBT, reminiscence therapy, exercise and digital platforms have been shown to reduce loneliness. It addresses loneliness as a risk factor and does not test whether reducing it prevents or cures Alzheimer's disease.
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Over a median follow-up of 5.9-7.9 years, 3,492 dementia cases were identified.
Why it matters
Across three cohorts, falls were linked to a 70% higher risk of dementia, and higher physical activity was linked to lower risks of both dementia and falls. These are observational associations, so they cannot prove that activity prevents dementia.
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Dementia is a leading health policy challenge, with cases expected to triple by 2050, particularly in low- and middle-income countries.
Why it matters
This policy article sets out principles for population-level approaches to reducing dementia risk, noting that age-specific incidence rates have fallen in high-income countries, which suggests risk can be lowered at the population level. It describes a research group's plans to study how structural, social and environmental conditions affect brain health across life, rather than reporting a treatment or cure.
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Differentiation of Alzheimer disease dementia (ADD) and dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) remains a challenge.
Why it matters
This study tested whether combining free-water imaging with a machine learning method could tell Alzheimer's disease dementia apart from dementia with Lewy bodies. It concerns diagnosis, not treating, curing or preventing Alzheimer's disease.
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Dementia developed in 104 individuals (29.6%), including 85 (22.4%) who met core clinical criteria for probable and possible Alzheimer's disease dementia.
Why it matters
In this study, 29.6% of participants developed dementia, and a model combining clinical and sociodemographic data predicted progression with 72% accuracy, rising to 82% when neuropsychology and biomarkers were added. The resulting INTERCEPTOR nomogram is presented as a tool for predicting dementia progression risk to support screening and risk assessment, not as a treatment or cure.
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In a sample of 1218 new HCBS users (75% female, 77% Black; mean [SD] age, 70.5 [7.5] years), Medicaid HCBS initiation was associated with a decrease in probability of ED use (-2.70 percentage points; 95% CI, -4.18 to -1.22 percentage points) and a decrease in probability of inpatient discharge (-2.63 percentage points; 95% CI, -3.75 to -1.51 percentage points).
Why it matters
This cohort study found that Medicaid Home and Community-Based Services initiation was associated with a persistent decrease in emergency department use and inpatient discharges among older adults with low income. It does not address treating, curing, or preventing Alzheimer's disease.
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Among 5353 MA beneficiary observations (1239 [23.1%] aged 65-74 years; 3127 [58.4%] aged ≥75 years; 1785 male [33.3%]), 1629 (30.4%) reported a diagnosis of ADRD, and 3724 (69.6%) did not report an ADRD diagnosis.
Why it matters
This study found that reintroducing Alzheimer's disease and related dementias to Medicare Advantage risk adjustment was associated with improved care access and reduced financial burden among beneficiaries with these conditions. It does not test any treatment, cure, or prevention, and it found no significant association with satisfaction with specialist access or quality of care.
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The Level 3 model achieved high classification performance (AUC: 93.98%), and the Level 1 model achieved comparable performance (AUC: 91.53%).
Why it matters
A tiered machine learning framework classified cognitive status and predicted progression from mild cognitive impairment to dementia with strong performance, using predictors like difficulty managing finances and self-reported cognitive decline. It is designed to help non-specialists conduct initial evaluations and triage high-risk patients for specialized assessment, especially in low-resource settings.
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.
- Using thematic analysis in psychology
- Relation between age-related decline in intelligence and cerebral white-matter hyperintensities in healthy octogenarians: a longitudinal study
- Prevalence and correlates of mild cognitive impairment among diverse Hispanics/Latinos: Study of Latinos-Investigation of Neurocognitive Aging results
- Barriers to healthcare access for cognitively impaired older Hispanics
- Pain, depression, and fatigue: loneliness as a longitudinal risk factor
- Cerebral microbleeds, retinopathy, and dementia: the AGES-Reykjavik Study
- Risk of dementia in Parkinson's disease: a community-based, prospective study
- Pain management at the end of life: A comparative study of cancer, dementia, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease patients
- Hippocampal volume in adult burn patients with and without posttraumatic stress disorder
- Computerized cognitive stimulation and engagement programs in older adults with mild cognitive impairment: comparing feasibility, acceptability, and cognitive and psychosocial effects