Neuroplasticity and Alzheimer’s disease
Gashtrodkhani AA, Shirkouhi SG, Khatami SS, et al. J Integr Neurosci. 2026;25(1):48051.
Summary. In a narrative review of literature investigating neuroplasticity related to Alzheimer’s disease, researchers found that pharmacological interventions might have therapeutic potential. Evidence showed that brain-derived neurotrophic factor and nerve growth factor mimetics, exercise, light therapy, diet therapy, and neuromodulation approaches might have the potential to promote neuroplasticity, offer complementary prevention and treatment benefits for Alzheimer’s disease, and improve cognitive function.
*PMID: 42060649, PMCID: PMC13132236
Visual memory correlates with Alzheimer’s disease biomarkers in cognitively unimpaired individuals
James TA, Zhao L, Xu H, et al. Alzheimers Dement. 2026;22:e71417.
Summary. In an exploratory factor analysis utilizing neuropsychological testing of 1,697 healthy adults, researchers identified 5 latent cognitive domain factors. Two of the factors, verbal memory and visual memory, were correlated with hippocampal volume. In addition, visual memory correlated with cerebrospinal fluid tau levels and resting state functional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) connectivity, suggesting a significant relationship with Alzheimer’s disease biomarkers. Verbal memory did not correlate with cerebrospinal fluid biomarkers or network connectivity.
*PMID: 42029420, PMCID: PMC13108244
Early Alzheimer’s diagnosis: U.S. primary care physicians and use of blood biomarkers
Burns JM, Alford S, Coppinger J, et al. Alzheimers Dement. 2026; 22(1):e70986.
Summary. In an exploratory study, researchers performed 20 in-depth (60-minute) interviews with primary care physicians from May 12 to May 26, 2023. The interviews addressed early Alzheimer’s disease diagnosis, primary care physician’s role, and blood biomarker test implementation. The results of the interviews showed that primary care physicians value examining cognitive decline and have confidence in their ability to diagnose Alzheimer’s disease. The main barriers to early diagnosis were complexity and inefficiency of current diagnostic workflows, lack of effective treatments, and stigma. In terms of blood biomarkers, primary care physicians considered the tests accurate and cost-effective but continue to have reimbursement and diagnostic pathway placement concerns.
*PMID: 41549413, PMCID: PMC12812852
From traumatic brain injury to Alzheimer’s disease: multilevel biomechanical, neurovascular, and molecular mechanisms with emerging therapeutic directions
Katramadou A, Bender ES, Kanakis D. Int J Mol Sci. 2026;27(3):1570.
Summary. In a synthesizing review of data linking biomechanical injury to molecular and neurovascular pathways of neurodegeneration, researchers found that traumatic brain injury is associated with long-term cognitive decline, psychiatric comorbidities, and pathological hallmarks. However, researchers determined that a multimodal framework combining traumatic brain injury models, standardized biomarkers, stratification by demographic factors like age, sex, and genotype, and temporally adapted therapeutic approaches is necessary to determine if traumatic brain injury is a potential initiator of chronic neurodegenerative processes.
*PMID: 41683989, PMCID: PMC12898350
Digital therapeutics for Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases: current trends and future perspectives
Jeong YJ, Lee HJ, Kim JS, et al. Med Res Rev. 2025;46(1):316–327.
Summary. In a review of digital therapeutic development for Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease, researchers found that there are personalized, evidence-based digital therapeutics that have been developed to monitor and modulate cognitive, motor, and psychological functions in individuals with either Alzheimer’s or Parkinson’s disease. Findings in the review showed improvements associated with digital therapeutics, including improved global cognition, executive function, attention, verbal memory, and working memory. However, there were limitations associated with the application of digital therapeutics to neurodegenerative diseases, including unclear long-term safety profiles and a lack of systematic longitudinal studies on negative outcomes.
*PMID: 40745950, PMCID: PMC12673471
Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias in rural Medicare populations: a scoping review
Kianfar N, Alsharayri S, Mollalo S. BMC Geriatr. 2026;26:237.
Summary. In a systematic scoping review of 33 studies analyzing Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias in rural Medicare populations from January 1, 2000, to March 5, 2025, researchers found that this population remains underrepresented in research despite their disproportionate disease burden. The available literature focused primarily on care delivery (30.3%) and hospitalization outcomes (21.2%), while Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias incidence, prevalence, mortality, medication use, dementia subtypes, environmental exposures, and policy interventions were rarely explored or evaluated.
*PMID: 41593510, PMCID: PMC12918024
Nanomaterials for Alzheimer’s disease: emerging strategies in diagnosis and therapy
Na Y, Bai J, Zhang N, et al. J Nanobiotechnology. 2026;24:398.
Summary. In an analysis of emerging therapeutic targets in Alzheimer’s disease and nanomaterial-based approaches for targeted treatment, researchers found that nanomedicine offers distinct advantages compared to conventional Alzheimer’s disease treatment methods. Advantages include enhanced diagnostic sensitivity and accuracy, superior therapeutic efficacy and reduced side effects, and flexible administration and improved pharmokinetics. Researchers also suggested that the future of nanomedicine will involve personalized treatment strategies and a convergence with advanced technologies like artificial intelligence.
*PMID: 41864895; PMCID: PMC13126975
Predicting onset of symptomatic Alzheimer’s disease with plasma p-tau217 clocks
Petersen KK, Milà-Alomà M, Li Y, et al. Nat Med. 2026;32(3):1085–1094.
Summary. Using longitudinal plasma ratio of phosphorylated to non-phosphorylated tau at position 217 (%p-tau217) from 2 independent cohorts (n=258 and n=345), researchers utilized clock models to estimate the age at plasma %p-tau217 positivity. In the study, researchers found that the estimated age at plasma %p-tau217 positivity was associated with the age at onset of Alzheimer’s disease symptoms. Time from %p-tau217 positivity to onset of Alzheimer’s disease symptoms was shorter in older individuals. These findings suggest that time until onset of Alzheimer’s disease symptoms might be predictable using a single blood test.
*PMID: 41714746; PMCID: PMC13004683
Postmenopausal sarcopenia and Alzheimer’s disease: The interplay of mitochondria, insulin resistance, and myokines
Farhana F, Sultana MA, Hia RA, Hegde V. Neurosci Biobehav Rev. 2026;180:106501.
Summary. In a review, researchers analyzed pathophysiological causes and identified treatment options to slow cognitive deterioration in postmenopausal women. Researchers found nonpharmacological approaches, such as dietary intake and physical activity were associated with improvement in sarcopenia and cognitive health. However, researchers found that that there were currently no pharmocological treatments available for older postmenopausal women with Alzheimer’s disease or sarcopenia.
*PMID: 41325816