New drugs show promise, and research finds value in vaccines, antivirals, exercise and probiotics.
Buck up, baby boomers. Sixty may not be the new 40, but 80 could soon be the new 60. A trove of new Alzheimer's research suggests that medicines and lifestyle changes can not only slow but prevent, even reverse, the debilitating disease.
Alzheimer's is characterized by a buildup of amyloid plaque and tangles of tau proteins in the brain. They trigger inflammation, which in turn causes cognitive decline and neuron death. Scientists don't know exactly what causes this destructive cascade. The disease's complexity stymied the quest for treatments for decades, but no more. Scientists are learning quickly.