There’s new research supporting previous findings that there are sex-based differences in Alzheimer’s disease progression that should be considered when it comes to screening protocols.
Researchers at Georgia State University (which is just down the street from me) analyzed brain scans of 332 people at different Alzheimer’s stages. While males show earlier gray matter volume loss, their rate of loss tends to plateau, which may result in “earlier onset but slower progression of structural decline.” Conversely, females showed delayed brain atrophy when compared to males, but when the decline did begin, it was at a steeper rate.
The study explores 3 theories that may have an impact on why Alzheimer’s disease evolves differently in men and women: hormonal pathways, APOE-e4 mechanisms, and women’s higher cerebrovascular burden. As I’m a APOE-e4 carrier, it’s concerning that the body of research so far suggests that it contributes to “more severe outcomes in women.” Obviously there’s nothing I can do about genetics, but it’s important to be aware of such factors.
Research will continue in this area to determine if sex-specific screening may support “earlier, more precise interventions.” This is critical because current treatments typically work best in the earlier stages of the disease.
A new study finds that a plant-based diet can reduce dementia risk, but not all plant-based foods rank equal when it comes to supporting cognitive health.
The study, which was published in the journal Neurology, captured the diets of over 90,000 individuals with an average age of 59. The study included a mix of ethnicities. In a follow-up a decade later, about half of those individuals provided an update on their current diet. Researchers categorized diets into quality tiers, with diets heavy in animal fats assigned the lowest-quality tier, unhealthy processed plant-based foods like french fries and fruit juice were assigned the mid-quality tier, and whole grains, nuts, fruits and vegetables were assigned the highest-quality tier. The study was most interested in the two plant-based diet tiers and its impact, if any, on dementia risk.
What the research discovered when isolating by the highest-quality diet tier, those who ate the most healthy plant-based foods had a 7 percent lower risk of dementia than those who ate the lowest amount. So quantity does matter when it comes to a plant-based diet.
But so does quality. When reviewing data for the group that ate the greatest amount of unhealthy plant-based options, their risk of developing dementia increased 6 percent.
I have to be on a gluten-free diet and I’ve found in the last two decades, the amount of gluten-free foods readily available has exploded. But that doesn’t mean those foods are necessarily healthy. I can easily find gluten-free pizza, donuts, cookies, and sugar-laden cereal. But on the flip side, I can make a conscious effort to find healthy gluten-free food, rich in whole grains and fiber. The same thing applies to vegan and plant-based diets. We live in an age of modern convenience which can lead to us consuming overprocessed comfort foods that may technically be plant-based but are anything but healthy.
A similar recommendation applies to animal fats, as there are healthier fats and benefits from eating fish and nuts versus eating a diet heavy in red meat or unhealthy processed foods like fried chicken. I was thinking of my father this past week as April 10 marked his birthday. He battled high cholesterol beginning in middle age, but he always was a fan of fish and my mother attempted to cook comfort foods with less-processed ingredients. One thing my dad was not fond of: raw vegetables. He said crunching into them hurt his teeth. I never saw my dad eat a salad; cole slaw was the closest he ever got. In spite of his aversion to vegetables, my father always stayed trim throughout his life, due to his love of walking.
Another interesting takeaway from the new study was that making dietary changes even at an older age can still benefit cognitive health. “We found that adopting a plant-based diet, even starting at an older age, and refraining from low-quality plant-based diets were associated with a lower risk of Alzheimer’s and other dementias,” said study lead author Song-Yi Park.
Does Alzheimer’s actually originate outside of the brain? New research identifies the cells that are potential drivers and which organs are most likely to be involved. The latest genetic data analysis supports a growing body of research suggesting inflammation plays a role in Alzheimer’s development.
I’ve covered the inflammation theory before on this blog. With the success of GLP-1s for weight loss and management, the drugs show promise to treat other chronic inflammatory conditions, such as diabetes. While the early trials for those with early Alzheimer’s failed to slow disease progression, the medications may still hold promise for treating inflammation-related diseases before an Alzheimer’s diagnosis is made. I’ve also written about the connection between heart disease and dementia.
As earth.com explains, the research team at Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Basic Metabolic Research in Denmark wanted to detect “where in the body are the genes associated with Alzheimer’s risk actually active.” The surprising discovery is that Alzheimer’s risk genes showed higher activity in organs outside the brain, such as the “skin, lungs, digestive system, spleen and in immune cells circulating in the blood.” What this could mean is that someone at greater genetic risk for Alzheimer’s could experience an inflammatory condition that create damage that later leads to cognitive decline.
While these preliminary findings are supported by earlier research into the inflammatory link to dementia, more research needs to be done to confirm these findings and understand the underlying mechanism. As the earth.com article notes, we may have focused too much on treatments targeting the brain, which may be why most current treatments only show minimal benefits.
Ages 55–60 were identified by researchers as a “critical window for immune activation tied to Alzheimer’s risk.” It’s important for those in their fifties, like myself, to focus on addressing any inflammatory conditions and consider preventative options as warranted.
While a cure or effective treatment for Alzheimer’s remains elusive, expanding focus beyond the brain is a promising research path.
Houser, Ari, Selena Caldera, Brendan Flinn, and Rita Choula. Valuing the Invaluable 2026: Family Caregivers’ Contribution Reaches $1 Trillion. Washington, DC: AARP Public Policy Institute, March 26, 2026. https://doi.org/10.26419/ppi.00402.001.
The latest caregiver report has been released by the AARP Public Policy Institute. Titled “Valuing the Invaluable 2026” the report, researchers found that the economic value of family caregiving in 2024 was worth a whopping $1 trillion.
In comments on the report, AARP CEO Dr. Myechia Minter-Jordan said, “When you look at caregiving at this scale, it becomes clear that this is not just a personal responsibility; it is a foundational part of our economy and our care system, and it is time we start recognizing it that way.”
Here are other main takeaways:
The $1.01 trillion amount breaks down to 49.5 billion hours devoted to family caregiving, equaling a workforce of 23.8 million full-time workers.
An estimated 59 million family caregivers helped an adult family member, neighbor, or friend with daily activities during the year, with 63 percent providing monthly care.
The economic value of family caregiving exceeded the total amount of federal, state, and local Medicaid spending in 2024 ($932 billion).
The cost and value of family caregiving has grown rapidly since the AARP’s first caregiving report in 2006, where the economic value of caregiving was found to be $350 billion.
Family caregivers now average 27 hours of care per week. This is on top of a part- or full-time job, plus for sandwich caregivers, caring for children and elder relatives at the same time.
More than half (55 percent) of family caregivers perform tasks typically handled by health care professionals, such as giving injections or managing a catheter. As a caregiver for my mother, I was required to care for her colostomy and after much trial and error, learned to manage her colostomy bag quite well. As I wrote in The Reluctant Caregiver, this task was well outside of my skillset and comfort zone, but as the sole family caregiver, I had no choice but to step up and take charge.
In conclusion, AARP noted: “This unpaid care generates significant public benefit, including savings for taxpayers, yet it often does so at considerable cost to caregivers’ own health, well‑being, and long‑term economic security.”
How does one’s writing change due to dementia? Interesting research was recently published that analyzed the late author Terry Pratchett’s writing over time to see if it changed due to the rare form of Alzheimer’s that he had.
Pratchett died in 2015. He had been diagnosed with posterior cortical atrophy and went public with his diagnosis, becoming an advocate to raise awareness for the disease and increase research efforts, according to an article published in The Conversation. Researchers in the UK conducted a lexical analysis of Pratchett’s novels and published their findings in the Brain Sciences journal.
The researchers focused on “lexical diversity” which in layman’s terms means diversity in word choice, and specifically examined the usage and variety of adjectives. What they found was a notable decline in adjective diversity in Pratchett’s latest novels. They pinpointed the first significant decline approximately 10 years before Pratchett was diagnosed.
While their findings are intriguing, the researchers were quick to note that linguistic analysis is not a standalone diagnostic tool for dementia, and results would vary depending upon a person’s education and other factors. But for authors, it could potentially be a helpful tool. Pratchett is not the first author whose work received a lexical analysis to detect cognitive changes; Iris Murdoch and Agatha Christie’s works have also been analyzed and a notable decline in vocabulary size and lexical diversity were noted.
Lexical analysis could emerge as a helpful diagnostic tool for Alzheimer’s and other dementias because the average person already produces a good deal of content in their daily lives, from texts to emails to social media posts. For us writers, we have a large amount of material that can be analyzed. Most promising is how early such an analysis may be able to detect subtle cognitive changes. Early detection is critical when it comes to Alzheimer’s, as the current treatments on the market work best for those in the early stages of the disease.
Image generated by Google Gemini. Note: I did not prompt it to come up with such depressing book titles.
I found this Ted Talk from Dr. Elaine Eshbaugh so insightful. She talked about the connection between anxiety and dementia: “When anxiety goes up, cognition goes down.”
She offered examples of how people with dementia may face anxiety in everyday situations that those of us without dementia may overlook. I loved her term “mental energy pennies” to describe how daily cognitive tasks can be more costly to those with dementia.
She also broke down how dementia can cause vision issues, both literally and figuratively. My father experienced vision issues, including depth perception problems that made entering and exiting elevators a challenge. He also had visual hallucinations. In his case, the vision issues elevated his anxiety levels which could cause him to lash out in confusion and frustration.
Being more aware of the connection between anxiety and dementia can help family caregivers better manage their loved one’s environments.
This weekend I got what turned out to be a funny reminder to slow down. Yesterday I was knocking out a bunch of household chores and was intent on getting the bed made before lunch. I was making ramen for lunch and had some leftover beef broth from making soup earlier in the week that I wanted to use instead of water to make it extra tasty.
Murphy, my senior dog, also enjoys a bit of Brutus Bone Broth with his meals, a special formulation for dogs with supplements for joint health. I keep the broth containers, which come in similar carton containers, on separate shelves in the refrigerator after opening so I don’t accidentally give Murphy my broth which has sodium and seasonings like onion and garlic in it.
Welp, you can probably figure out what happened next. Yesterday in my rush to have all my chores done before lunch, I started the ramen while distracted and let it cook while I made the bed. [First mistake.] Murphy was extra excited in the kitchen and getting underfoot while I was making lunch, so I shooed him out. [Second mistake.] I got the bed made and ate my lunch and then got ready to feed the dog that evening.
And when I opened the refrigerator, I was surprised to find no dog broth. How is that possible, it wasn’t near empty yet ….
Ruh-roh. That’s when my eyes saw the container of beef broth, still sitting on a lower shelf. I had accidentally used the dog’s broth in my ramen.
I probably turned a little green around the gills while I dug the dog broth carton out of the trash. My first concern was if the broth was gluten-free, as I’m a celiac and strictly follow a no gluten diet. I breathed a big sigh of relief when I saw those two magical words “gluten free” on the label. That was followed closely by two more welcomed words: “human grade.” Scanning the limited, whole-food ingredients, the dog-formulated broth was probably healthier than the broth for people. The joint supplements were also fine for people.
I’m fine and can laugh about the whole situation now, especially Murphy trying to give me a sign. He was probably wondering what yummy treat I was making him with his broth! Fortunately I had another container of dog broth in the pantry, so he will not go without. You would think the author of Slow Dog would take some her own advice. It’s a good reminder that being intentional requires daily practice.
As a caregiver, of course, it’s even more important to not be distracted when preparing meals to avoid allergies or drug interactions. Your and your loved one’s well-being is more important than when the bed gets made. Lesson learned and noted!
Looking for more caregiving tips? I’m participating in the The 17th annual Smashwords Read an Ebook Week sale. Get the e-book version of The Reluctant Caregiver for half off through March 7, 2026.
Over 10 years ago, I wrote about an experimental blood test being tested that could help predict a person’s risk of developing dementia over the course of the next few years. There have been a lot of developments in the blood test space since then. This month, the Alzheimer’s Prevention Registry wrote about new research exploring a promising, low-cost option for large-scale Alzheimer’s screening: dried blood spots.
Not that long ago, the idea that Alzheimer’s could be diagnosed with a blood test seemed like a major breakthrough, since prior to that, diagnosis either came post-mortem or an invasive spinal tap procedure. There are cognitive-based tests that doctors use to screen for dementia, such as the clock test, but those are not as definitive in nature as a blood test for Alzheimer’s biomarkers, which was approved by the FDA in 2025.
But blood tests still present challenges, requiring a medical professional to draw the sample, and then proper handling to ensure the same remains viable until it reaches the testing laboratory. Researchers in Europe brainstormed on how to simplify the procedure and are now actively testing a process that uses dried blood spots. A person takes the blood sample themselves at home, using a finger prick method. The sample is collected on a card, allowed to dry, and then mailed into a laboratory. Early results are promising, with high accuracy rates, but more work needs to be done to perfect the process.
One interesting point that researchers noted was that people in the study didn’t like the finger puncture, so a different collection method involving the upper arm is being explored. The issue with finger punctures may have led to more sample failures than desired. I know when I used a finger prick test at home (to check my cholesterol level), the first time it worked fine, but the second time, I struggled to get a proper sample and I received notice from the lab that my sample couldn’t be used. It was a frustrating experience and I ended up going to a medical clinic for a traditional blood draw.
Still, if the process becomes reliable and affordable, I strongly prefer at-home tests. Such a test would open up dementia screening for underserved populations and help people access treatment options earlier.
In the past month, we’ve lost two beloved actors: Catherine O’Hara and James Van Der Beek. They were from two different generations but one thing they did have in common was a diagnosis of colorectal cancer. The former “Dawson’s Creek” star Van Der Beek had gone public with his stage III diagnosis and shared health updates with his fans via social media. He was only 48, highlighting that while still rare, younger people can be diagnosed and die from colon cancer. “Black Panther” star Chadwick Boseman, who died in 2020 at age 43 from colon cancer, brought awareness for younger generations of Black Americans who are at greater risk.
I was a major fan of Catherine O’Hara, as I enjoyed her roles in the Christopher Guest mockumentaries and her star role in the hit TV series “Schitt’s Creek.” One of my all-time favorite comedy films is “Best in Show.” I was surprised to see rectal cancer listed as an underlying cause of death, with the primary cause being a pulmonary embolism. She was 71, and had not shared her cancer diagnosis with the public. According to the death certificate, she had been treated by an oncologist since March 2025. My mother dealt with blood clots as a result of her colon cancer, and they became a more immediate health concern than the cancer after her surgery. There are multiple reasons why cancer patients are at greater risk for blood clots: cancer thickens the blood, some chemotherapy drugs can increase blood clot risk, and those that require surgery may find themselves immobile for long periods. The latter I believe is what happened in my mother’s case. The difference between her first surgery (colostomy) and the second surgery (reversal) was night and day. While she developed blood clots after the first surgery, she didn’t after the second procedure, because staff got her up and moving much quicker. I write about my mother’s cancer experience in The Reluctant Caregiver.
Celebrity culture can be obnoxious at times but fame offers a platform and influence that can help raise public awareness. Certainly stars may have advantages when it comes to battling a disease like cancer, from more funds and better insurance than the average person to connections in accessing experimental treatments.
But cancer also serves as an equalizer, in that it doesn’t discriminate in who it touches. For example, former “Beverly Hills 90210” star Shannen Doherty was open about how physically and mentally tough it can be to go through cancer treatment, with raw and real videos and popular podcast before her 2024 death at age 53 from breast cancer. If more people are encouraged to assess their health, get a screening, or change their poor lifestyle habits in response to notable death, that can make a real difference in survival rates.
While in the past the connection between vascular and cognitive health was not as clear, we now have a wealth of scientific evidence that captures how the cardiovascular system supports the brain. The Mayo Clinic outlines several forms of vascular dementia, some which are triggered by strokes, while other forms are the result of chronic medical conditions like diabetes or high blood pressure.
The American Brain Foundation points out that “heart disease can be a significant contributing factor to dementia” due to its critical role in delivering blood flow that provides oxygen and other nutrients to the brain that supports cognitive health.
Heart disease is considered a risk factor for dementia. Poor heart health increases stroke risk, which can disrupt blood flow to the brain. Monitoring cholesterol levels is important because excess cholesterol can lead to blocked arteries and increase stroke risk.
The good news is that there are several lifestyle changes people can make to support their heart and brain health. Here are recommendations from the Mayo Clinic:
Quit smoking
Maintain a healthy weight
Prevent or manage diabetes
Keep your blood pressure and cholesterol levels in check with regular montioring
Exercise
The American Brain foundation also recommends managing stress levels and getting good sleep on a regular basis.
My father never gave up smoking until he was forced to in the memory care center but he became obsessed with cholesterol levels in midlife. It’s hard to know what caused my father’s dementia as he already had a strong family history, and I suppose my father opted to control his diet vs a habit he didn’t think he could quit. If managing heart and brain health feels overwhelming, begin by taking one small action each day and build momentum over time until it eventually becomes a healthy and sustainable lifestyle.
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The Memories Project 