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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61/100
The results underscore the impact of education on brain structure and function in LA, highlighting the importance of incorporating educational factors into diagnosing, care, and prevention, and emphasizing the need for global diversity in research.
Why it matters
This study looked at how education relates to brain structure and function in people from Latin America and the United States, including those with Alzheimer's disease. It suggests that education is linked to brain volume and connectivity, and that educational factors should be considered in diagnosing, care, and prevention.
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Of 4413 individuals (mean [SD] age, 71.27 [4.66] years, 2617 women [59.3%]), mean Aβ-PET was elevated in individuals with history of memory impairment in both parents (n = 455; mean [SD] standardized uptake value ratio [SUVR] = 1.12 [0.19]; Wilcoxon P = 1.1 × 10-5) and in those with only maternal history (n = 1772; mean [SD] SUVR = 1.10 [0.19]; Wilcoxon P = 2.70 × 10-5) compared with those with only paternal history (n = 632; mean [SD] SUVR = 1.08 [0.18]; Wilcoxon P = 1.1 × 10-5) or no family history (n = 1554; mean [SD] SUVR = 1.08 [0.19]; Wilcoxon P = 1.1 × 10-5).
Why it matters
This cross-sectional study found that maternal history of memory impairment at any age, and paternal history of early-onset memory impairment, were associated with higher brain amyloid burden in people without symptoms. It identifies family history patterns linked to amyloid but does not test any treatment, cure, or prevention.
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Recent studies have associated immune abnormalities with dementia.
Why it matters
This large study examined whether blood levels of IL-6, a marker of inflammation, are related to thinking ability, brain volumes, and dementia risk. The findings could help clarify the role of inflammation in dementia, but they do not show that reducing IL-6 prevents the disease.
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The use of conventional anti-dementia drugs is associated with a lower mortality in nursing home residents with dementia and should be widely used in this population.
Why it matters
This observational study found that use of cholinesterase inhibitors and memantine was associated with reduced mortality in nursing home residents with dementia. The results were consistent in propensity-score matched cohorts.
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The epidemiology of Parkinson's disease shows marked variations in time, geography, ethnicity, age, and sex.
Why it matters
This review states that the cause of Parkinson's disease is multifactorial and involves genetic and environmental factors, with risk factors such as pesticides and protective factors such as physical activity and tendency to smoke postulated but causality complicated by the long prodromal period. It notes that chronic neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson's disease and dementia are gaining higher public health priority, with multipronged prevention strategies mentioned, but reports no treatment or cure for Alzheimer's disease.
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Although dopamine replacement therapy remains a core component of Parkinson's disease treatment, the onset of motor fluctuations and dyskinetic movements might require a range of medical and surgical approaches from a multidisciplinary team, and important new approaches in the delivery of dopamine replacement are becoming available.
Why it matters
This paper reviews medical, surgical and physical treatments for Parkinson's disease and notes that disease-modifying therapies are urgently needed for symptoms including cognitive impairment and dementia. It does not report a treatment, cure or prevention for Alzheimer's disease.
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We aimed to characterise the brain structure of superagers and identify demographic, lifestyle, and clinical factors associated with this phenotype.
Why it matters
This longitudinal study compared 'superagers' with typical older adults and found that faster movement speed and better mental health were the most differentiating factors, with similar dementia blood biomarker levels in both groups. The authors suggest factors linked to dementia prevention may also relate to resistance to age-related memory decline, but this is an observational finding, not a proven intervention.
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From 2011 to 2017, of the 1193 major surgeries (from 992 community-living participants), the mean (SD) age was 79.2 (7.1) years; 665 were women (55.7%), and 30 were Hispanic (2.5%), 198 non-Hispanic Black (16.6%), and 915 non-Hispanic White (76.7%).
Why it matters
This study reported one-year mortality after major surgery among community-living older US adults. It does not address Alzheimer's disease treatment, cure or prevention.
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Brazil's potential for dementia prevention is higher than in HIC.
Why it matters
This study estimated that twelve risk factors account for 48.2% of dementia cases in Brazil, with less education, hypertension, and hearing loss having the largest contributions. It estimates prevention potential from risk factors and does not test any specific intervention.
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To evaluate reverse causation, we assessed whether a polygenic risk score for AD is associated with HGS.
Why it matters
In 190,406 UK Biobank adults (average age 56.5), each 5 kg of lower grip strength was linked to more new dementia (hazard ratio 1.20 in men, 1.12 in women), worse memory and reasoning scores, and more white-matter damage on brain scans. Grip strength did not differ by inherited Alzheimer's risk (the polygenic score was "not significantly associated"), so the authors argue the link is not simply early Alzheimer's weakening the hands. The study is observational: it suggests muscle strength may be worth building in midlife, but it does not show that strength training prevents dementia.
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Whether the association of cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) with dementia differs by sex remains unclear, and the role of socioeconomic, lifestyle, genetic, and medical factors in their association is unknown.
Why it matters
This large study examined whether the link between cardiovascular diseases and different types of dementia differs between men and women. It also looked at whether factors like education, income, lifestyle, and genetics influence that association, which could inform sex-specific prevention strategies.
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Poststroke cognitive impairment and dementia (PSCID) is a major source of morbidity and mortality after stroke worldwide.
Why it matters
This review describes post-stroke cognitive impairment and dementia as a major source of morbidity and mortality after stroke, with risk influenced by factors such as older age, lower educational status, vascular risk factors and stroke characteristics. It states that understanding the interaction between acute stroke and preexisting brain pathology remains a priority for developing strategies for prediction, prevention, targeted interventions and rehabilitation, but reports no treatment or cure.
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61/100
Women's reproductive factors have been associated with the risk of dementia; however, these findings remain uncertain.
Why it matters
Earlier evidence linking women's reproductive history to dementia was "uncertain", so this study followed 273,240 women and 228,957 men from the UK Biobank who did not have dementia at the start. It used Cox regression, adjusted for factors including age, socioeconomic status, smoking, blood pressure, BMI, diabetes and cholesterol, to test whether reproductive factors in women and number of children in both sexes relate to later all-cause dementia, and whether this varies by age, SES, smoking or BMI. It is observational: it can show associations, not causes, and it does not test any treatment or prevention.
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Late-onset NPS improve the specificity of MCI as an at-risk state for progression to dementia.
Why it matters
This study found that people with mild cognitive impairment who had late-onset persistent neuropsychiatric symptoms were more likely to progress to dementia and less likely to revert to normal cognition. The findings describe a factor that may help predict progression but do not test any treatment or prevention.
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The loss of occlusal support may lead to cognitive dysfunction through the reduction of chewing-related stimuli, aggravation of nerve damage, and long-term inflammatory stress.
Why it matters
Reviewing 26 animal experiments, the authors describe three ways that losing occlusal support (teeth meeting properly when chewing) might harm thinking: less chewing stimulation and brain blood flow, worsening of existing nerve damage including more amyloid build-up, and long-lasting inflammation involving microglia and astrocytes. Because the evidence comes from animals, it offers possible explanations for the reported link between tooth loss and dementia rather than proof in people.
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Baseline plasma MCP-1 levels were associated with longitudinal declines in overall cognitive and episodic memory performance in older adults over a 4-year follow-up.
Why it matters
In 1097 older adults from the Multidomain Alzheimer Preventive Trial (MAPT), higher blood levels of MCP-1, a protein that signals inflammation, were associated with faster decline in episodic memory and overall thinking over 4 years. How MCP-1 interacts with amyloid, measured in blood as Aβ 42/40, still needs to be clarified. The finding points to MCP-1 as a possible marker of decline, not a proven cause.
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This study shows that Hcy levels could modify the association between red blood cell n-3 PUFA and executive function.
Why it matters
In 782 participants from a prevention trial, omega-3 levels were associated with better performance on one attention test in people with lower homocysteine, while those with high homocysteine worsened on another test after five years of supplementation. These findings suggest the effect of omega-3 may depend on homocysteine levels, but they do not show that omega-3 prevents cognitive decline.
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People with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) are at increased risk of mild cognitive impairment and dementia.
Why it matters
Combining data from 40 studies, this meta-analysis found that people with type 2 diabetes who had cognitive impairment had higher blood levels of inflammatory markers such as IL-6, C-reactive protein, sVCAM-1 and advanced glycation end products than those with normal cognition. Levels of BDNF, a protein that supports nerve cells, were lower. These associations support the idea that inflammation and blood-vessel problems are linked to cognitive impairment in diabetes, though they do not prove cause.
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Digital cognitive tests showed good performances for MCI and dementia.
Why it matters
This systematic review found that most digital cognitive tests had diagnostic performance comparable to paper-and-pencil tests for detecting mild cognitive impairment or dementia. However, all the digital tests had only a few validation studies, so their performance is not yet well established.
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The structure and integrity of the ageing brain is interchangeably linked to physical health, and cardiometabolic risk factors (CMRs) are associated with dementia and other brain disorders.
Why it matters
This study of 790 healthy individuals found associations between cardiometabolic risk factors such as smoking, higher blood pressure, and inflammation and older-appearing brains on imaging. It identifies risk associations but does not test any treatment, cure, or prevention for Alzheimer's disease.
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Our results demonstrate that different MAPT mutations give rise to distinct atrophy patterns and clinical phenotype, providing insights into the underlying disease biology and potential utility for patient stratification in therapeutic trials.
Why it matters
This cohort study used a machine learning technique to characterize distinct atrophy patterns in people with MAPT mutation-related frontotemporal dementia. It concerns a genetic form of frontotemporal dementia and its progression patterns, not Alzheimer's treatment, cure or prevention.
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These findings underscore the importance of blood pressure control in midlife to mitigate dementia risk.
Why it matters
In this UK Biobank cohort, adherence to biological metrics like blood pressure, cholesterol, and glycemic status was associated with lower dementia risk, and genetically elevated blood pressure was linked to higher dementia risk. The lifestyle subscore of smoking, body mass index, diet, and physical activity showed no association with incident dementia, and the authors emphasize blood pressure control in midlife.
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There is increasing interest in the use of technology to support social health in dementia.
Why it matters
This systematic review found only weak evidence that digital technologies may improve self-management and social participation for people with dementia or mild cognitive impairment, and noted that digital technologies may provide less benefit to people with dementia than to those with mild cognitive impairment. It concerns support tools, not treating, curing, or preventing Alzheimer's disease.
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Compared with men, women had decreased risk of any LEA (hazard ratio [HR], 0.34 [95% CI, 0.31-0.37]).
Why it matters
This study examined trends in lower extremity amputation rates and associated risk factors among veterans using Veterans Health Administration services. It does not address treating, curing or preventing Alzheimer's disease.
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A decade has passed since we published a comprehensive review in this journal addressing the topic of promoting successful cognitive aging, making this a good time to take stock of the field.
Why it matters
There is growing agreement among major health organizations on steps to reduce cognitive decline and support healthy cognitive aging. Regular physical activity and treatment of cardiovascular risk factors are supported by all these organizations, and most also endorse cognitively stimulating activities, a heart-healthy diet, smoking cessation, and countering metabolic syndrome.
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 effects of light therapy on sleep problems: A systematic review and meta-analysis
- Prevalence of cognitive impairment: results from the MRC trial of assessment and management of older people in the community
- Key lessons to improve care—factors contributing to delayed discharges and cost implications: medical conditions and rehabilitation delays at a tertiary rehabilitation center in Saudi Arabia
- Alcohol and cardiovascular health: the razor-sharp double-edged sword
- Time-Dependent Risk of Dementia Following Epilepsy Diagnosis: A Nationwide Cohort Study in South Korea
- A Psychosocial Intervention for Supporting Informal Caregivers of Older People With Alzheimer Disease: Protocol for the InnFamiglia Randomized Controlled Trial
- A new method of classifying prognostic comorbidity in longitudinal studies: Development and validation
- Non-economic social deprivation and cognitive functioning later in life: Results from the DELCODE study
- Association of neighborhood socioeconomic disadvantage and cognitive decline
- Associations of hippocampal subfields in the progression of cognitive decline related to Parkinson's disease