What is Alzheimer’s disease?
Alzheimer’s is the most common cause of dementia. It is marked by clumps of amyloid protein (plaques) and tangles of tau protein in the brain, alongside inflammation and the gradual loss of neurons. These changes begin years — often decades — before memory problems appear.
Diagnosis is changing
Alzheimer’s pathology can be confirmed with PET scans or spinal-fluid tests, and blood tests that measure markers such as p-tau217 are now reaching clinical use, making earlier and easier diagnosis possible. Confirming amyloid matters because the newest drugs are only for people who have it.
Treatments
Older medicines — cholinesterase inhibitors (donepezil, rivastigmine, galantamine) and memantine — can ease symptoms for a time. The first disease-modifying drugs, the anti-amyloid antibodies lecanemab (Leqembi) and donanemab (Kisunla), clear amyloid and modestly slow decline in early-stage disease. They carry a risk of brain swelling or small bleeds (ARIA), require MRI monitoring, and the risk is higher in people carrying the APOE4 gene variant.
Risk and prevention
Age and genetics are the biggest risk factors, but many others can be changed. A major 2024 Lancet Commission report estimated that close to half of dementia cases may be linked to modifiable factors, including hearing loss, high LDL cholesterol, high blood pressure, diabetes, smoking, physical inactivity, excess alcohol, depression, social isolation, air pollution, head injury and untreated vision loss. Tackling them is sensible for health generally, even though no single step guarantees protection.
More than Alzheimer’s
This guide also covers Parkinson’s disease, ALS, long-COVID brain fog, sleep and other brain-health research. Below is every related RxWyre article, newest first — general information, not medical advice.
