Mental and Cognitive Health Library
Every article, presentation, spotlight, and news item we've tagged to Mental and Cognitive Health.
Showing 25–48 of 203
Social Isolation Accelerates Cognitive Decline Across Cultures
Social isolation associates with accelerated cognitive decline across diverse populations—a finding consistent in U.S., Mexican, English, and Chinese cohorts. The relationship persists independent of baseline cognition, depression, and chronic disease, suggesting social connection operates as a modifiable factor in cognitive aging.
Does lowering cholesterol harm the brain?
A large genetic study finds that lifelong reductions in atherogenic lipoproteins are associated with lower dementia risk, contradicting the concern that cholesterol-lowering strategies harm cognitive function. This evidence clarifies a persistent misconception in longevity planning.
Brain Aging Mediating Heart Imaging‐Derived Phenotypes and Mental and Nervous System Disorders
Brain imaging from 33,573 participants reveals that accelerated brain aging mediates the relationship between cardiac structural changes and mental health disorders. Smoking and physical inactivity emerge as modifiable factors that influence this heart-brain-disorder pathway, suggesting intervention points in the progression toward age-related cognitive and psychiatric decline.
Early intervention shifts Alzheimer's treatment window
Reanalysis of Alzheon's failed Phase 3 trial suggests valiltramiprosate may protect brain structure and slow disease progression in patients with mild cognitive impairment, despite missing the broader primary endpoint. The findings highlight a critical mismatch between how Alzheimer's trials are designed and the heterogeneous response patterns observed across disease stages.
Cognitive preservation in advanced age hinges on nutrition
Community-based assessment of 80+ adults in Turkey identified social engagement, nutritional status, and psychological well-being as independent predictors of cognitive preservation in advanced age. These findings suggest that cognitive decline in the oldest-old is modifiable through integrated intervention addressing multiple life domains simultaneously.
Brain cholesterol independence reshapes Alzheimer's risk strategy
Lipid-lowering therapies do not impair brain health or cognitive function through excessive LDL cholesterol reduction. The brain maintains independent cholesterol homeostasis and synthesizes its own cholesterol, rendering systemic LDL levels largely irrelevant to cerebral lipid availability or Alzheimer's disease risk.
Building on Preserved Capabilities of People Living With a Neurocognitive Disorder: Participatory Action Research for the Implementation of Cognitive Strategies in a Seniors’ Residence
Cognitive strategy interventions implemented through participatory action research enable people with neurocognitive disorders to maintain engagement in meaningful activities and preserve dignity. The approach leverages procedural memory—the capacity to retain learned motor and behavioral patterns—as a foundation for functional preservation despite cognitive decline.
Early Memory Precision Detection Shifts Dementia Intervention Window
Prema Cognition has secured $730,000 in funding to expand PREMAZ, a digital cognitive assessment that detects memory decline years before conventional tests identify impairment. The tool addresses a critical gap in dementia detection: most therapeutic interventions work best in early disease stages, yet healthcare systems lack the sensitivity to identify patients at that window.
Alzheon doses first subject in Phase 1 of ALZ-507
Alzheon has initiated Phase 1 trials of ALZ-507, an oral small molecule designed to inhibit neurotoxic amyloid oligomer formation and correct APOE4 dysfunction. The compound demonstrates favorable preclinical safety and pharmacokinetic profiles supporting once-daily dosing, with Phase 2 studies planned across Alzheimer's disease, Down syndrome-associated AD, and cerebral amyloid angiopathy.
Mild cognitive impairment cases affect the predictive power of Alzheimer’s disease diagnostic models using routine clinical variables
Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) cases substantially reduce the predictive accuracy of Alzheimer's disease diagnostic models built on routine clinical variables. This finding challenges the assumption that standard biomarkers and clinical assessments alone can reliably stratify progression risk in early cognitive decline.
Home-Based Rehab Slows Decline in Dementia-Related Disability
A home-based intervention combining occupational therapy, physical therapy, and nursing support improved physical function and reduced disability in older adults with mild cognitive impairment or early dementia. The model demonstrates that targeted, in-home support addressing both cognitive and physical decline can be sustained and accepted by this population.
Social Determinants of Health and Research Participation Among People Living With Mild Cognitive Impairment and Dementia
Older adults and individuals with cognitive impairment from lower socioeconomic backgrounds remain significantly underrepresented in dementia research, limiting the generalizability of findings and slowing therapeutic development for populations at highest risk. Addressing barriers to research participation directly affects whether treatments will be validated in the populations that need them most.
Social Balance Patterns Shape Cognitive Decline Risk in Aging
Social participation patterns in older adults show measurable associations with cognitive trajectory, with the balance between family-centered and broader community engagement emerging as a critical variable. This finding positions social structure and relational patterns as modifiable factors in cognitive resilience during aging.
‘Peak performance’ culture is exhausting our nervous systems
Chronic pursuit of peak performance without adequate recovery locks the nervous system in a prolonged stress state, diverting resources from sleep, digestion, immunity, and cognitive function. This pattern drives burnout and disease rather than sustainable health, requiring deliberate recovery practices and calendar curation as foundational interventions.
Twenty years on, cognitive training shows dementia signal
A 20-year follow-up of the ACTIVE trial found that speed-of-processing training with booster sessions reduced dementia diagnoses in older adults, a rare signal of efficacy in prevention research anchored to clinical diagnoses rather than cognitive test scores alone.
Seeing the Mind: Associations Between Distance and Near Vision Impairment and Cognitive Performance Among Community-Dwelling Older Adults
Visual impairment in older adults—both distance and near vision—correlates with measurable cognitive decline independent of age and education. The association suggests vision loss creates a bidirectional relationship with cognitive performance, making visual function a potentially modifiable risk factor in cognitive aging.
Seizure drug may halt Alzheimer’s early
Levetiracetam, an FDA-approved epilepsy drug, blocks production of amyloid-beta 42 by subtly altering protein trafficking within neurons—intervening decades before Alzheimer's symptoms emerge. This represents a shift from clearing existing plaques to preventing their formation at the source.
Tau reduction slows Alzheimer's cognitive decline in Phase 2
Diranersen, an antisense RNA therapy, reduced tau protein production and slowed cognitive decline in early Alzheimer's patients during Phase 2 testing, providing the first clinical evidence that tau reduction may meaningfully slow disease progression. This represents a significant shift from decades of amyloid-focused drug development toward targeting tau as a primary pathological driver.
Neuropsychiatric Symptoms Drive Dementia Progression and Caregiver Health
Neuropsychiatric symptoms in dementia—agitation, depression, anxiety, psychosis, apathy, and sleep disturbance—occur in the majority of patients and substantially increase caregiver burden and accelerate cognitive decline. Understanding the prevalence and management of these symptoms is critical for developing interventions that address both patient outcomes and caregiver health.
Acid–Base Dysregulation Links Aging Metabolism to Frailty
Chronic acid accumulation from aging and stress depletes the body's buffering capacity, disrupting communication between physiological systems and driving frailty through impaired energy metabolism. This acid-base dysregulation mechanism unifies existing frailty models and identifies diet, exercise, and buffering strategies as therapeutic targets.
Hippocampal Aging: Refined MRI Measurement of Memory Decline
A correction to a published study on age-related changes in hippocampal microstructure using advanced diffusion MRI reveals refinements in how structural degradation in memory-critical brain regions is measured and interpreted. The correction addresses methodological details that affect the accuracy of quantifying neuronal architecture changes across the lifespan.
Blood biomarkers detect cognitive decline before symptoms
DiamiR Biosciences will present three posters at the 2026 Alzheimer's Association International Conference focused on blood-based biomarkers for cognitive decline detection, including plasma APOE genotyping and circulating microRNA signatures. These biomarkers represent a shift toward non-invasive, early-stage identification of neurodegeneration risk before clinical symptoms manifest.
Current Clinical Trials of Alzheimer’s Drugs
Clinical trials for Alzheimer's disease have expanded significantly, with 158 drugs across 192 trials currently under investigation. The pipeline reflects a strategic shift toward multi-target approaches, particularly inflammation and immune dysfunction alongside established amyloid and tau pathways, reflecting recognition that cognitive decline involves multiple biological mechanisms requiring coordinated intervention.
Shared neurodegeneration mechanisms reshape Alzheimer's treatment strategy
NeuroSense's Phase 2 data from PrimeC in Alzheimer's disease shows biomarker shifts similar to those observed in prior ALS studies, suggesting neurodegenerative diseases share common biological mechanisms. This finding supports a shift away from single-target drug development toward multi-pathway approaches addressing simultaneous system failures in neurodegeneration.