TL;DR: A 2026 Nature Communications study in aging mouse and killifish brains found that deubiquitylases (DUBs), enzymes that help edit protein-cleanup tags, lost about 40% of their catalytic activity with age even when many of the same enzymes were still present. Key Findings Brain DUB activity fell with age: In old mouse brains, researchers saw …
TL;DR: A 2026 medRxiv preprint found that a composite cerebral small vessel disease (cCSVD) score from routine T1 MRI predicted 3-month cognitive recovery after stroke better than any single small-vessel marker in a 65-person cohort. Key Findings Recovery window: The study analyzed 65 early subacute stroke survivors who completed baseline and 90-day follow-up visits. MRI …
TL;DR: A 2026 mouse and cell study in Signal Transduction and Targeted Therapy linked ATP11B, a phospholipid-flipping transport protein, to hippocampal iron handling, mitochondrial failure, ferroptosis, and age-related cognitive decline. Key Findings ATP11B fell with brain aging: Older mice showed lower blood-brain-barrier tight-junction markers and ATP11B emerged from integrated aging, endothelial-cell, and transport-gene analyses. ATP11B …
TL;DR: A 2026 medRxiv preprint linked higher blood inflammatory markers with diffusion MRI signs of altered white-matter microstructure in 457 dementia-free middle-aged and older adults, especially for a combined cytokine score and orientation dispersion index. Key Findings 457 dementia-free participants: The cross-sectional study examined adults with a mean age of 63.82 years and used blood …
TL;DR: A 2026 study in Neurology found that higher autonomic symptom burden in moderate-advanced dementia with Lewy bodies was linked to worse cognitive fluctuations, higher neuropsychiatric burden, and lower caregiver quality of life over time. Key Findings Autonomic burden was measured longitudinally across 189 people with moderate-advanced dementia with Lewy bodies. Higher Autonomic Symptom Checklist …
TL;DR: A 2026 medRxiv preprint found that specific AD8 dementia-screening items, especially judgment, repetition, finances, tool use, and daily memory problems, tracked functional and psychosocial vulnerability in 144 Chinese-speaking older adults. Key Findings Small community sample: The cross-sectional study included 144 Chinese-speaking adults with a mean age of 73.1 years. Three AD8 domains: Exploratory factor …
TL;DR: A 2026 randomized clinical trial in the Journal of Sport and Health Science assigned 130 midlife adults to 150 minutes/week aerobic exercise or no-exercise control for 1 year and found sustained lower long-term cortisol in the exercise group. Key Findings Year-long randomized trial in 130 midlife adults: Participants aged 26 to 58 were randomly …
TL;DR: A 2025 study in The Journal of Prevention of Alzheimer’s Disease found that stress internalization, not acculturation or activity engagement, predicted memory decline across three waves in 1,528 older Chinese Americans. Key Findings Stress internalization predicted longitudinal memory decline: A latent factor combining greater perceived stress, greater hopelessness, and lower conscientiousness was the single …
TL;DR: A 2026 MIDUS mediation study in Brain, Behavior, & Immunity – Health found that social asymmetry was associated with greater chronic disease burden, while chronic disease burden mediated links between social asymmetry and episodic memory and executive function, while allostatic load did not. Key Findings Study type: a structural equation modeling study of social …
TL;DR: A 2026 medRxiv preprint used quantitative multi-parametric MRI mapping in 245 BeLOVE participants and found that white matter hyperintensities had lower MTsat and R1 plus higher proton density, with nearby normal-appearing white matter also showing microstructural changes linked to MoCA, a brief cognitive screening score. Key Findings 245 MRI participants: The analysis used cerebral …
