The memory ritual neurologists practice daily
Memory and the habits that protect it Memory loss has long been framed as an inevitable consequence of aging, something to manage rather than prevent. Neurologists increasingly disagree. Emerging research suggests that consistent, modest habits practiced over decades shape memory and focus far more than any single intervention introduced later in life. Memory, in this […]
Hydrocephalus treatment may be entering a new era
Hydrocephalus, sometimes described as water on the brain, occurs when cerebrospinal fluid builds up faster than the body can clear it, causing the brain’s fluid filled chambers to expand. That fluid normally cushions the brain and carries away waste, but when its production or drainage falls out of balance, the resulting pressure can cause serious […]
Why does cognitive decline start so much earlier than anyone expects
Cognitive health is no longer a concern reserved for people approaching their seventies. The research on how the brain ages and what accelerates or slows that process has shifted the conversation decisively into earlier decades of life, and the findings carry implications for how people in their thirties, forties, and fifties make decisions every single […]
Alcohol and cancer, the link researchers can’t ignore
New research on cancer risk, brain health and early mortality is challenging the idea that moderate drinking is harmless. New research on cancer risk, brain health and early mortality is challenging the idea that moderate drinking is harmless. Alcohol has long held a comfortable place in social life, tied to celebrations, dinners and […]
Why early dementia detection just got a lot closer
Dementia, and Alzheimer’s disease in particular, remains one of the most pressing public health challenges tied to an aging population. According to the Alzheimer’s Association, roughly 74% of Americans diagnosed with Alzheimer’s are 75 or older, though the condition can also appear earlier in life, a form known as younger onset dementia. Catching the disease […]
Your brain is changing right now and here is the proof
The brain is arguably the most dynamic organ in the human body, constantly forming new connections and pruning old ones based on the demands placed on it each day. This plasticity, the ability to reorganize and adapt, is both its greatest strength and its most delicate vulnerability. What the brain does is not determined solely […]
Stroke warning signs — the five minutes that determine everything about recovery outcomes
Stroke is one of the most time-sensitive medical emergencies in existence. Every minute that passes during an untreated brain attack allows approximately two million neurons to die, which is why the phrase used in emergency medicine, time is brain, is not rhetorical but literally accurate. The difference between recognizing a stroke within minutes and identifying […]
Brain health habits — the daily choices quietly determining how sharp you stay
Brain health is shaped less by genetics than most people assume and more by the accumulation of daily choices made across decades. Research consistently shows that lifestyle factors including sleep quality, physical activity, nutrition, and social connection exert a profound influence on how the brain ages, and many of these factors begin producing measurable effects […]
Shingles vaccine linked to lower dementia risk in new research
For years, the shingles vaccine has been recommended to older adults as protection against a painful viral flare-up that can follow anyone who has had chickenpox. New research now suggests that protection may extend well beyond nerve pain. A study published this week in the peer-reviewed journal Annals of Internal Medicine found that elderly nursing […]
Alzheimer’s disease research finds new promise in an old psychiatric drug
Alzheimer’s disease affects roughly 32 million people worldwide, and that number is expected to climb to 152 million by 2050. Despite decades of research and billions in pharmaceutical investment, there is still no cure. The medications that exist today manage symptoms, and mostly in the early stages. They do not stop the disease from progressing. […]