Alzheimer’s disease is notoriously tricky to diagnose, with symptoms creeping in so gradually that they can easily be mistaken for something else entirely. Yet pinpointing the signs early can make all the difference in slowing its progression. Among these early red flags, language issues are often ignored or underestimated—but they might just be your best tool for picking up on Alzheimer’s sooner.
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New research suggests that the balance and walking issues associated with Alzheimer’s disease may not be “top-down” problems caused by brain decay, but rather “bottom-up” failures in the peripheral nervous system.
The study utilized “human-on-a-chip” technology to prove that genetic mutations for familial Alzheimer’s can damage the connection between nerves and muscles directly, independent of the brain or spinal cord.
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Can you remember what you dreamt last night? Research has found that people who don’t remember their dreams may experience cognitive decline twice as fast as those who do.
A study published by Alzheimer’s & Dementia: Diagnosis, Assessment & Disease Monitoring, studied people aged over 60 and found those who have poor dream recall are more likely to be carrying the APOE ε4 gene — the biggest genetic risk factor for Alzheimer’s.
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Scientists at Oregon State University have captured something researchers have long struggled to see: the real-time chemical interactions that help drive Alzheimer’s disease. By watching how metal ions—especially copper—trigger harmful protein clumping in the brain, the team uncovered a clearer picture of how the disease develops at a molecular level.
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There is an urgent need to expand access to Alzheimer’s disease testing, Schaeffer Institute Founding Director Dana Goldman writes in an op-ed for RealClearHealth.
Goldman argues that new blood tests that detect Alzheimer’s disease earlier and more accurately will enable intervention at an earlier stage, better care planning, and more effective use of emerging therapies.
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Doctors are only just getting to grips with LATE – a newly recognised form of cognitive decline behind up to one in five dementia cases
When a parent or grandparent begins forgetting names, misplacing objects or repeating the same stories, the diagnosis most people expect is Alzheimer’s disease. For decades, Alzheimer’s has dominated public understanding of dementia, becoming almost shorthand for memory loss itself.
But that assumption is increasingly being challenged. Neurologists now know that a significant number of people with Alzheimer’s-like symptoms actually have a different condition altogether – one that most families, and even many doctors, have only recently heard of.
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