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Gum disease and Alzheimer’s: The importance of oral hygiene

9 December 2019

The bacteria in our bodies affect our minds. Cell biologist Sim Singhrao explains how improved oral hygiene, diet and exercise can stave off dementia

Alzheimer’s leads to the loss of brain matter (right)

Childhood hormone treatments may have spread Alzheimer’s proteins

13 December 2018

Last century, tens of thousands of children were given growth hormone from dead bodies. Evidence is building that this may have raised their risk of Alzheimer’s disease

One drink a day might be enough to stop dementia by flushing the brain

1 August 2018

Light drinking helps prevent dementia, and now we may know why: it revs up the brain’s waste disposal system

Brains grow brand new neurons after experimental drug injection

29 May 2018

We make very few new brain cells as adults, but a chemical cocktail that creates new neurons in mice could change that, and help treat Alzheimer’s and stroke

One bad night’s sleep may increase levels of Alzheimer’s protein

9 April 2018

A bad night’s sleep may lead to a protein linked to Alzheimer’s building up in the brain, but whether this raises the risk of the condition is unclear

A surgeon passing a surgical implement to a colleague

Surgical instruments may spread Alzheimer’s proteins

15 February 2018

Amyloid protein, which is linked to Alzheimer’s disease, may be spread via surgical implements, but there isn’t evidence yet that this can transmit the disease

Making your brain cells longer could help ward off Alzheimer’s

22 November 2017

People who die with plaques and tangles in their brain but no signs of dementia may have changed the shape of connections between neurons to withstand the disease

AI spots Alzheimer’s brain changes years before symptoms emerge

14 September 2017

A machine-learning algorithm that examines MRI scans can identify alterations in how different regions of the brain are connected that indicate future disease

How menopause and Alzheimer’s change the brain in similar ways

30 August 2017

Brain changes during menopause that resemble Alzheimer's hint at how the disease starts and could help us stop it in its tracks

Childhood exercise may protect against memory loss in old age

14 August 2017

Rats that run during their youth are better able to remember new things when they are older - a finding that suggests exercise may help prevent dementia