Current methods of screening for dementia have a range of limitations. Using virtual reality for cognitive screening is still a new area, but it’s showing promise.
Mild cognitive impairment can be an early sign of Alzheimer’s disease or other dementias.
ivanastar/iStock via Getty Images Plus
Soeren Mattke, University of Southern California et Ying Liu, USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences
Medicare covers an annual well-check visit that could potentially identify cognitive issues, but only about half of beneficiaries take advantage of them.
A study of US veterans found that one in ten had been wrongly diagnosed with dementia, when they actually had a treatable liver condition.
Lack of sleep, or poor quality sleep, is one of the risk factors for developing Alzheimer’s disease. Fortunately, there are ways to improve sleep.
(Shutterstock)
Sleep appears to play an essential role in a number of brain functions, such as memory. So good quality sleep could play a vital role in preventing dementia.
On Feb. 7, 2024, the EPA strengthened the federal limit for annual levels of fine particulate air pollution, or PM2.5. Many serious health effects have been linked to PM2.5 exposure.
Scientists have published the first evidence that Alzheimer’s can be transmitted from person to person. Patients received human growth hormone from the tissue of donated brains.
The experimental methods available today allow us to break the brain down into its elementary components in order to understand its functions and dysfunctions.
(Shutterstock)
Montréal is home to one of the world’s largest brain banks, the Douglas-Bell Canada Brain Bank, where discoveries about different neurological and psychiatric diseases are made.
Does the simple fact of being in contact with art have any specific effects?
(Shutterstock)
Lifestyle-related dementia risks are complex, with factors like sleep, exercise, diet and social contact interacting with things like cognitive reserve, neuroplasticity and inflammation in the body.
Previous research has shown loss of volume in the hippocampus precedes signs of cognitive decline in people with Alzheimer’s.
Atthapon Raksthaput/ Shutterstock