EurekAlert! In the Spotlight - Alzheimer's Awareness Month

Welcome to In the Spotlight, where each month we shine a light on something exciting, timely, or simply fascinating from the world of science.

In honor of Alzheimer's Awareness Month, we’re exploring the science and stories surrounding Alzheimer’s disease.

Latest News Releases

Updates every hour. Last Updated: 22-Jun-2026 16:16 ET (22-Jun-2026 20:16 GMT/UTC)

14-May-2026

Healthier brains may be more resilient to early Alzheimer’s disease

Murdoch University
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A new collaborative study from Murdoch University and AdventHealth investigated why some people remain more resilient to early Alzheimer's-related brain changes than others. They found that maintaining a healthy brain was the biggest factor in protecting thinking and memory skills.

Journal: Neurology
Funder: the Clinical and Translational Science Institute at the University of Pittsburgh, Kansas University infrastructure grants, NIH

14-May-2026

Houston Methodist researchers develop AI platform to decode how cells ‘talk’ in cancer, Alzheimer's and other complex diseases

Houston Methodist
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Scientists at Houston Methodist have developed an artificial intelligence platform that can decode how cells communicate inside the human body, opening a window into conditions such as Alzheimer’s disease, cancer and potentially accelerating the search for new treatments.

Journal: Signal Transduction and Targeted Therapy

13-May-2026

Longevity-linked APOE2 gene variant helps neurons repair DNA and resist aging

Buck Institute for Research on Aging
Peer-Reviewed Publication

People who carry the APOE2 version of the apolipoprotein E gene are more likely to live to advanced age and are partly protected against Alzheimer's disease, but scientists have struggled to explain why. A new study from the Buck Institute for Research on Aging, now published in Aging Cell, offers a mechanistic answer: APOE2 helps human neurons keep their DNA intact and resist becoming senescent, a damaged, dysfunctional state that accumulates with age and contributes to neurodegeneration.

Journal: Aging Cell
Funder: Hevolution Foundation

13-May-2026

Alzheimer's therapeutic breakthroughs may be financially inaccessible, warns Trinity College Dublin

Trinity College Dublin
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A new study led by researchers at Trinity College Dublin in Alzheimer’s & Dementia: The Journal of the Alzheimer’s Association, estimates the value-based prices of these medicines across 174 countries. The study shows that while disease-modifying therapies (DMTs) may offer substantially greater health benefits than usual care, their real-world impact will depend on whether they are priced in ways that health systems can afford.

Funder: Global Brain Health Institute

13-May-2026

Blood-based 'ageing clock' predicts dementia risk and earlier onset

King's College London
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Having a biological age older than chronological age is associated with a greater likelihood of developing dementia, a new study has shown. By combining measures of biological ageing and genetic risk, researchers have identified individuals at a higher risk of developing dementia and those who will develop the disease at a younger age.

Journal: Alzheimer s & Dementia
Funder: National Institute for Health Research, NIHR Maudsley Biomedical Research Centre

11-May-2026

New research identifies how obesity alters brain lipids to accelerate Alzheimer’s progression

Houston Methodist
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A new study moves beyond the traditional view of obesity as a general health risk and investigates how obesity-related changes in body fat can send harmful signals to the brain, disrupting brain immune function, thereby worsening Alzheimer’s pathology.

Journal: Molecular Neurodegeneration