A dignified later life made possible through dementia villages

How do 'dementia villages' work?

The goal of good dementia care is to preserve a patient's quality of life as the incurable disease progresses, maximizing their ability to lead normal lives and maintain their health and dignity. Dementia villages are small neighborhoods built for people with severe dementia, with typical neighborhood haunts like salons or grocery stores staffed by people trained in dementia care, helping residents maintain a sense of autonomy and connection.

After a dementia diagnosis, it's important to plan ahead but also savor the moment

The next steps after a diagnosis include taking lifestyle steps to slow disease progression and completing legal paperwork about long-term medical preferences. It's also important to appreciate the moments and days ahead and find humor in them, when possible. (Some users may encounter a paywall.)

Can your identity be preserved amid dementia?

Memory loss associated with progressive dementia raises questions about whether a person's identity can be maintained during the disease's progression. One outlook suggests we define ourselves by our social relationships—offering a potentially more humane approach to caring for those with dementia.

Dementia caregiver training programs exist—but they aren't common

Comprehensive dementia care programs go beyond offering support to caregivers. They train people on how to modify their homes, communicate with their loved ones with dementia, and cope with the stress of caregiving, among other skills. Yet despite evidence showing their effectiveness and the economic benefit of avoiding unnecessary emergency room visits, these programs are often poorly funded and difficult to find.

Watch this award-winning short film depicting what it feels like to live with dementia. (Film has English subtitles.)

Dementia describes progressive memory issues that impact daily activities

Although Alzheimer's disease is sometimes thought of synonymously with dementia, there are multiple types of dementia, which manifest in memory loss and other symptoms that make it challenging to perform daily tasks. These types include Lewy Body dementia, vascular dementia, and frontotemporal dementia. Parkinson's disease is not a form of dementia, but this movement disorder can sometimes develop into issues with memory and a formal diagnosis of dementia.

How neurodegeneration happens, the underlying disease process of dementia

Dementia symptoms may vary between individuals, and may include mood changes, difficulty walking, speaking, and memory problems. It can progress over many years, occurring due to progressive damage to nerve cells in the brain. This degradation may happen for myriad reasons, and its triggers are under investigation.

How reading and writing can lower dementia risk by almost 40%

Research published in 2026 that tracked almost 2,000 older adults for an average of nearly eight years suggests that lifelong exposure to intellectual stimulation, such as learning a language, reading, and writing, can lower dementia risk by as much as 40%.

How family members disappeared into dementia

This narrative feature describes one family's troubling experience with frontotemporal dementia, or FTD, which emerges in the prime of adult life — as young as 40, in some cases — and degrades the brain's ability to plan, organize, express language, understand social cues, and exercise judgment.

Why vascular dementia develops

This type of dementia, the second most common form after Alzheimer's, develops due to microscopic bleeds and blood vessel blockages in the brain. The condition isn't curable but medications to help with blood clotting and high blood pressure are part of a suite of interventions designed to minimize damage to the brain.

Millions of aging Americans are facing dementia or cognitive impairment—alone

An estimated 4.3 million people aged 55 or older who have cognitive impairment or dementia live alone in the US. The individuals facing these challenges are more likely to be women, people of color, and to generally be poorer and less educated than other older adults who are also living alone.

America's financial burden from dementia in 2025 was $781 billion

That figure, calculated by researchers at the University of Southern California, includes medical and long-term care costs, unpaid family and friend caretaking, lost productivity for patients and their families, and the economic loss in quality of life for patients and their families. In 2025, they estimate there were 5.6 million people living with dementia.

1440: Everything you need to know about Alzheimer's

What is Alzheimer's, and is it different from dementia? In short, yes—Alzheimer's is a specific brain disease that falls under the umbrella of dementia. However it is the most prevalent form of the condition, accounting for 60 to 80% of reported dementia cases.

An analysis of ancient texts found that dementia was rare in ancient Greece.

Brain training game creates long-lasting changes in the brain that may help protect against dementia

Findings published in 2026 that tracked more than 2,000 older adults, examining dementia onset and completion of cognitive speed training activities, provide some of the strongest evidence yet that cognitive training games can help protect against dementia. Participants who underwent speed training and received booster sessions had a 25% reduction in the risk of dementia diagnosis compared with the control group.

Some dementia cases may be linked to microorganisms in the brain

Researchers now know that, much like the gut, the brain is home to an ecosystem of microorganisms—the brain microbiome. While this area of study is still new, some scientists believe 50% of bacteria-caused dementia cases could be treated. (Some users may encounter a paywall.)

Alzheimer's disease is the leading cause of dementia and risks rise after age 65

Read this primer about Alzheimer's disease and learn what factors increase the risk of this form of dementia, including genetics, being a woman, and health conditions, including high blood pressure.

Untreated hearing loss is linked with dementia risk

Hearing loss does not cause dementia, but it does increase the risk of developing dementia and research suggests that people who wear hearing aids for age-related hearing loss also maintain better brain function than those who don't.

Alzheimer's as a family disease: When children become "parents"

Kitty Eisele's 81-year-old dad went missing while on a snowy, four-hour drive from Minneapolis to Iowa City. It was the first emergency that spelled out the danger of her dad's dementia diagnosis—and captures how Alzheimer's impacts entire families, with the influx of responsibility that comes with caregiving.

Learn the differences between mild cognitive impairment and age-associated memory loss

Mild cognitive impairment is a condition in which people experience more thinking and memory problems than expected for their age. It's often associated with depression and anxiety. Daily routines, writing things down, and healthy lifestyle choices can help cope with the condition, but there's no cure. The condition elevates the risk of developing dementia and Alzheimer's.

Sitting 10+ hours per day increases dementia risk

People who sit for at least 10 hours per day are more likely to develop dementia, according to a study published in 2023. This article details the study on the murky relationship between brain health and prolonged sitting. This study involved...

See the challenges of navigating Alzheimer's caregiving

This 2025 PBS documentary provides a window into the experiences of three families navigating the struggles and beauty of caregiving for a loved one with Alzheimer's.

How Alzheimer's caregivers get pulled into their loved one's reality

Caregivers, most often children and spouses, do not just witness a family member's cognitive decline—they also often become drawn into it, navigating a world in which the typical rules of time, order, or logical continuity may not apply.

Memory disorders disrupt the brain's ability to make, store, or recall memories

These disorders stem from reversible issues like vitamin deficiencies or irreversible causes such as stroke or dementia. Only one type of dementia—familial Alzheimer’s disease—is directly inherited and accounts for about 20% of Alzheimer’s cases.

An Alzheimer's patient discusses her condition with children

Alzheimer's is a deadly disease that profoundly changes a person's abilities and personality, which makes it difficult to explain to kids. Responding to potentially uncomfortable questions with honesty (and relatable imagery) about the costs and nature of the disease goes a long way in fostering understanding.

Super-agers: seniors 80 and above with the memory ability of people in their 50s

Studies show the number one indicator of whether someone is a "super-ager" is not diet or genetics, but the extent of their social relationships. Moreover, scans reveal noticeable physical differences in certain parts of the brain in patients with extensive social networks.

How Alzheimer's disease affected one family as symptoms progressed

News program 60 Minutes interviewed a couple navigating aging and Alzheimer's over a 10-year period to illustrate the effects of the disease on their lives.

The story of hospice and its founder, Dame Cicely Saunders

Dame Cicely Saunders founded St. Christopher's in 1967, the first modern hospice. Hospice is a healthcare movement focused on providing compassionate, holistic end-of-life services on the dying and their loved ones. A colleague of Saunders, Mary Baines, was interviewed in 2005 to discuss her experience alongside the founder and the growth of the movement.

Five to ten percent of Alzheimer's cases are early-onset

Early-onset Alzheimer’s typically emerges around 40 to 50 years of age, with devastating effects. This video follows Brian, diagnosed with the disease at age 54, as he travels the country as an advocate for research and discusses the progressive mental fog of Alzheimer’s.

Two 100-year-old sisters share their tips for staying mentally sharp

Shirley Hodes, 106, and her sister Ruth Sweedler, 103, don’t routinely do crossword puzzles, but both have stayed sharp as they aged. Though they live states apart, they share similar advice for maintaining mental acuity. They sum up their strategies for cognitive health with four verbs: work, connect, learn, and appreciate. Read this article to learn more about their approach to staying 100-plus years young.

MS Drugs reduce inflammation, helping reduce relapses and slow disease progression

Disease-Modifying Drugs calm the body's inflammatory response to help stave off relapses—when new or existing MS symptoms show up for a day or longer. Avoiding smoking, exercising, reducing stress via mindfulness, checking for vitamin D deficiencies, drinking more water and eating well, all can slow disease progression. [The jury's still out on if HRT around the time of menopause may reduce dementia risk](https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanhl/article/PIIS2666-7568(25)00122-9/fulltext) Estrogen can reduce inflammation and support neural growth in the brain, and some research has suggested that beginning hormone replacement therapy around menopause—versus later in life—reduces Alzheimer's disease risk. Still, a recent systematic review concluded that taking HRT didn't affect dementia risk, regardless of when women started taking it, so the science remains unsettled.

Helping support others in older age linked to longer life

Analysis of findings from a long-term study of older couples first interviewed in 1987 and then followed for the next five years found that individuals who lend support to friends, neighbors, and relatives live longer. Non-helpers were more than twice as likely to die as helpers during the five-year period. That's even after controlling for factors including age, gender, and physical and mental health.

Blue zones are regions with unusually high numbers of centenarians

Factors thought to contribute to longevity in these regions include diet and social connections, but their legitimacy is often questioned due to a lack of rigorous scientific methodology and potential record inaccuracies.

How frontotemporal dementia changes your personality

Significant changes in personality later in life are often attributed to psychological factors. But Dr. Bruce Miller, long-time researcher of FTD, argues this shift is most often attributable to changes in the brain.

Visit these 'blue zones,' where people live the longest

Blue zones, a term coined in 2004 by National Geographic Fellow Dan Buettner, are regions in the world where people live the longest and healthiest lives. Researchers have identified a few key aspects defining the culture of these areas—physical activity, diet, purpose-driven lives, and more. Explore the top five blue zones from across the world here.

How the buildings you occupy may affect your brain health

Beautiful spaces filled with light and natural motifs aren't just aesthetic, but likely key to your health. Researchers had study participants view photographs of two distinct buildings, one designed with more natural elements while the other featured more abstract shapes and lines. Using electroencephalograph readings of each participant, they discovered participants had less brain inflammation while viewing the "biophilic," or natural, architecture. Learn more about the interdisciplinary framework of so-called neuroarchitecture here.