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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A dementia guideline-based disease management program led to substantial improvements in quality of care for patients with dementia.
Why it matters
This randomised trial found that a dementia guideline-based disease management program led by care managers improved adherence to guideline recommendations compared with usual care. The authors noted the participants were well-educated, mostly white, and not institutionalised, which may limit how far the results apply to other patients.
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68/100
Tracking over 10,000 people for 27 years, this landmark study found that being obese in midlife (in your 40s) nearly doubled the risk of developing dementia decades later, and being overweight also raised the risk, independent of whether someone later developed diabetes or heart disease.
Why it matters
Being obese in midlife was linked to 74% higher dementia risk decades later, and being overweight to 35% higher risk, independent of later diabetes or heart disease. This identifies midlife obesity as a modifiable risk factor, but it does not show that losing weight prevents dementia.
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In elderly hypertensive patients, a slightly more effective blood pressure reduction during candesartan-based therapy, compared with control therapy, was associated with a modest, statistically non-significant, reduction in major cardiovascular events and with a marked reduction in non-fatal stroke.
Why it matters
In this trial of elderly hypertensive patients, blood pressure reduction with candesartan-based therapy did not significantly reduce the proportion of patients who had significant cognitive decline or developed dementia. There was a marked reduction in non-fatal stroke, but no significant difference in cognitive outcomes between treatment groups.
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More than three quarters of this representative PD cohort developed dementia during the 8-year study period.
Why it matters
In an 8-year study, 78.2% of Parkinson's disease patients developed dementia, and early hallucinations and a certain type of Parkinson's were linked to higher risk. This describes the risk of dementia in Parkinson's but does not test any treatment or prevention for Alzheimer's.
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The trial was completed by 67% of patients in the placebo group and 73% of patients in the risperidone group.
Why it matters
In this 12-week randomized placebo-controlled trial of 345 nursing-home patients with dementia, low-dose risperidone (mean 0.95 mg/day) significantly reduced aggressive behavior compared with placebo. This addresses management of aggression and agitation symptoms, not curing or preventing Alzheimer's disease.
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Recent results of the Women's Health Initiative (WHI) and the Heart and Estrogen/progestin Replacement Study (HERS) are included for reported outcomes.
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The combined interventions produced a significant improvement of 0.14 to 0.41 standard deviation units, on average, for caregiver burden, depression, subjective well-being, perceived caregiver satisfaction, ability/knowledge, and care receiver symptoms.
Why it matters
Pooling 78 studies of interventions for family caregivers of older adults, this 2002 meta-analysis found average improvements of 0.14 to 0.41 standard deviations in caregiver burden, depression, well-being, satisfaction, ability/knowledge and care-receiver symptoms. Gains were larger for caregivers' knowledge than for burden or depression, psychoeducational and psychotherapeutic approaches had the most consistent short-term effects, and effects were smaller for dementia caregivers than for other groups. It measures support for caregivers, not any treatment for Alzheimer's disease itself.
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In women with menopausal symptoms, HRT may have specific cognitive effects, and future studies should target these effects.
Why it matters
This review found that hormone replacement therapy did not help prevent cognitive decline in healthy postmenopausal women, though some observational studies suggested a lower dementia risk. The authors note most of those studies had important methodological limitations, so no clear prevention benefit is established.
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The study encompassed 284 cases with dementia and 1080 controls.
Why it matters
In UK GP records covering 284 people with dementia and 1,080 matched controls aged 50 and over, people prescribed statins had a lower risk of a dementia diagnosis (adjusted relative risk 0.29, 95% CI 0.13–0.63). People taking other cholesterol-lowering drugs, and people with untreated high cholesterol, showed no significant difference. This is an observational case-control study, so it shows an association rather than proof that statins prevent dementia, and the authors note their data could not separate Alzheimer's disease from other dementias.
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The study was completed by 70% of the patients.
Why it matters
In this 12-week trial of 625 patients with severe dementia, risperidone at 1 and 2 mg/day reduced psychosis and aggression scores more than placebo. It treats behavioral symptoms only and does not affect the underlying disease or its progression.
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The incidence of dementia rises exponentially to the age of 90 years.
Why it matters
This 1998 meta-analysis pooled 23 published studies and found that new cases of dementia and Alzheimer's disease rose exponentially with age up to 90, 'with no sign of leveling off.' It found no overall difference between women and men (p = 0.21), and a lower dementia incidence in East Asian countries than in Europe (p = 0.0004). It describes how often dementia appears at different ages and in different regions; it does not explain why, and it does not test any treatment or prevention.
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In this multicenter randomized clinical trial among older adults with family history of dementia and/or self-reported subjective cognitive decline, exercise, IRVR, or both did not result in statistically significant differences in improvements in cognitive function over 24 months.
Why it matters
In this large randomized trial, exercise, intensive vascular risk reduction, or both did not produce statistically significant improvements in cognitive function over 24 months. This suggests these approaches did not slow cognitive decline in older adults with dementia risk factors.
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Frailty, comorbidities, and other age-related diseases were associated with a higher risk of dementia but did not account for the elevated dementia risk observed after severe infections.
Why it matters
In this multicohort study, severe infections were linked to a higher risk of dementia, and adjusting for frailty and other conditions did not explain away that link. Frailty and comorbidities were themselves linked to higher dementia risk, but they did not account for the raised risk seen after severe infections.
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Of 23 558 people without pre-existing dementia, 4135 (17·6%) had an admission with delirium.
Why it matters
In this population-based cohort, delirium on hospital admission was linked to a higher risk of later dementia, with the strongest relative risk in people who did not have multiple long-term conditions. Delirium was also linked to higher mortality regardless of how many long-term conditions people had, so it may help identify patients at higher risk who need closer follow-up.
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67/100
Among 11 601 participants (mean [SD] age, 59.18 [9.41] years; 5569 male [48.0%]), 9145 (78.8%) were exposed to at least 1 ACE indicator, 4241 (36.6%) to at least 1 AAE indicator, and 3531 (30.4%) to both ACE and AAE markers.
Why it matters
In this cohort study, exposure to adverse childhood and adulthood experiences was associated with higher risks of dementia and stroke, with depression mediating part of these associations. The authors highlight the importance of life-course interventions addressing psychological trauma and mental health, but the study does not test a specific treatment or cure.
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Although no overall EF benefit was observed, RE improved attentional/inhibitory control in cognitively normal older adults.
Why it matters
In this 24-week trial in cognitively normal older adults, resistance exercise improved attention and inhibitory control but showed no significant benefit for executive function overall. It does not show that resistance exercise prevents or treats Alzheimer's disease.
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In this systematic review and meta-analysis, estimates indicate that FTD is comparable in frequency to dementia with Lewy bodies and occurs at higher rates than progressive supranuclear palsy, corticobasal syndrome, and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.
Why it matters
This review pooled 32 population-based studies to estimate how often frontotemporal dementia occurs. It found that FTD is comparable in frequency to dementia with Lewy bodies and more common than progressive supranuclear palsy, corticobasal syndrome, and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, which the authors say provides a foundation for future research and public health planning.
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APPLE-Tree is an accessible intervention associated with small improvements in cognition, although these results were not statistically significant.
Why it matters
The APPLE-Tree remote, lower-intensity multidomain lifestyle intervention was linked to small improvements in cognition, but these results were not statistically significant. This means the trial did not show a clear cognitive benefit from the program.
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Review of the evidence and recommendations are provided for the diagnosis of osteoporosis, fracture-risk assessment and intervention thresholds, management of vertebral fractures, non-pharmacological and pharmacological treatments, including duration and monitoring of anti-resorptive therapy, glucocorticoid-induced osteoporosis, as well as models of care for fracture prevention.
Why it matters
This guideline is about the prevention and treatment of osteoporosis, not about Alzheimer's disease. It provides no information relevant to treating, curing, or preventing Alzheimer's disease.
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Among 13,875 individuals with nonmissing VRF and outcome data with up to 30 years of follow-up (25% Black, 54% female), 179 developed PD at a mean age of 73.4 years, 94 developed PDD at a mean age of 79.2 years, and 1,791 developed dementia without PD at a mean age of 79.7 years.
Why it matters
This longitudinal study found that midlife current smoking was associated with lower rates of Parkinson disease and Parkinson disease-dementia, while other midlife vascular risk factors were not associated with either. The authors call for further studies to explore mechanisms for these observed associations, and the findings concern Parkinson disease rather than Alzheimer's disease treatment, cure, or prevention.
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A total of 704 records met the inclusion criteria for bibliometric analysis.
Why it matters
This bibliometric analysis of 704 records found a steady increase in publications on digital health technologies and dementia, especially in mobile health, virtual reality, artificial intelligence, and sensor-based interventions. It maps research trends and gaps rather than testing whether these technologies improve dementia care.
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One hundred ninety-eight of 229 participants had WMH volumes available at both time-points.
Why it matters
In this longitudinal study of 198 participants, greater progression of white matter hyperintensities was linked to global cognitive decline, while regression of these lesions was associated with preserved global cognition and improved executive function. The authors suggest that white matter hyperintensity-affected tissue can recover and could be an intervention target, but this is an observational finding that needs assessment in other populations and longer follow-up.
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Our findings provide robust evidence supporting the protective effect of the Mediterranean diet against stroke.
Why it matters
This meta-analysis of 30 studies found that adherence to the Mediterranean diet was associated with a significant reduction in stroke risk, with a pooled hazard ratio of 0.88. It concerns stroke prevention and does not address Alzheimer's disease treatment, cure or prevention.
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Of 486 older adults who provided consent, 375 (with rMDD, MCI, or both) received at least 1 intervention session (mean [SD] age, 72.2 [6.4] years; 232 women [62%] and 143 men [38%]).
Why it matters
In this trial of 375 older adults, cognitive remediation and transcranial direct current stimulation slowed cognitive decline in some participants, particularly those with remitted major depressive disorder. The effect on delaying progression from normal cognition to mild cognitive impairment or from mild cognitive impairment to dementia was weak and not significant.
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The study consisted of 20 400 patients (9264 female [45.4%]; 1576 Black [7.7%], 3944 Latinx [19.3%], and 10 480 White [51.4%]), including 5100 patients with mTBI (median [IQR] age, 36.0 [25.0-51.0] years), 5100 patients with msTBI (median [IQR age, 35.0 [25.0-52.0] years), and 10 200 matched patients in the control group (median [IQR] age, 36.0 [25.0-51.0] years).
Why it matters
In this cohort study, traumatic brain injury of any severity was linked to higher risk of many later conditions, including dementia. It identifies TBI as a risk factor but does not test any treatment, cure, or prevention for 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.
- Cellular changes in the postmortem hippocampus in major depression
- Cognitive status correlates with white matter alteration in Parkinson's disease
- Physical activity, falls, and dementia risk in adults aged ≥ 60: evidence from three cohorts
- Diabetes mellitus and the risk of dementia: The Rotterdam Study
- Hypoactive Delirium: The Critical Need for Collaboration Between Families and Nurses in Prevention, Recognition and Care
- Perspective: Emerging challenges for a future ADNI
- Distributed Patterns of Functional Connectivity Predict Working Memory Performance in Novel Healthy and Memory-impaired Individuals
- Prevalence and associated factors of dysphagia in nursing home residents
- Recommendations for the diagnosis and management of Alzheimer's disease and other disorders associated with dementia: EFNS guideline
- CIND and MCI in the Italian elderly: frequency, vascular risk factors, progression to dementia