3 risk factors to avoid that could delay dementia by over a decade

dementia

New research suggests that people who keep their blood pressure, blood sugar and smoking habits in check during midlife spend far longer living without dementia than those who do not. The heart and the brain have always been linked, and doctors have long said that what helps one tends to help the other. A new […]

Speaking 2 languages may slow brain aging

Brain health

Speaking two or more languages may keep your brain younger, new research shows. Learning a second language may do more than help travelers order coffee abroad. A growing body of research suggests that speaking multiple languages can reshape the brain, slow biological aging and even improve recovery after serious illness. Three separate studies, released in […]

Sweeteners linked to a surprising brain health cost

sugar, sweeteners

Popular sweeteners found in everyday drinks and low calorie snacks may carry a downside few people expect. A large new study has linked higher consumption of several widely used sweeteners to faster declines in memory and thinking skills over time, raising fresh questions about products long marketed as a healthier choice. The research followed nearly […]

Why does cognitive decline start so much earlier than anyone expects

biomarker, circadian, brain health, fish oil, lacunar stroke, Cognitive

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 […]

Why early dementia detection just got a lot closer

dementia

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

Brain health

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 […]

Brain health habits — the daily choices quietly determining how sharp you stay

Brain health

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

Vaccine

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

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. […]

Vitamin C may hold a key to a sharper aging brain

vitamin c

Vitamin C has long been associated with immune support and a defense against the common cold, but a new study adds the brain to the list of organs that may depend on it. Researchers have found a connection between blood levels of vitamin C and the volume and connectivity of gray matter, the tissue responsible […]