Here are some of the most recent Alzheimer’s developments from 2025-2026: By the numbers - 2026 7.4 million Americans age 65+ are living with Alzheimer’s in 2026, up ∼200,000 from 2025 1 in 9 adults 65+ has Alzheimer’s. By 2050, 82 million Americans will be 65+ vs 65 million now 13 million unpaid caregivers provided 19 billion hours of care valued at ∼$450 billion 60c7 New research on causes & risk factors Blood sugar & brain changes: UC San Diego found diabetes is linked to blood markers of tau and amyloid — proteins involved in Alzheimer’s — in Latino adults. Even high blood sugar without diabetes showed similar patterns Epigenetic aging: A 2026 Aging-US study found one biological aging clock, AgeAccelGrim2, was linked to Alzheimer’s-like brain changes on MRI. Smoking-related DNA changes drove much of that link Immune system: A high neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio on routine blood tests was tied to higher future dementia risk, suggesting inflammation may be an early signal Vitamin D: A new Neurology Open Access study found a “promising” link between vitamin D levels and tau levels, a marker of Alzheimer’s risk 4c4bff81ba9ba515b8d9 Treatment & prevention advances Lifestyle works: U.S. POINTER trial results from AAIC 2025 showed two lifestyle programs improved cognition in older adults at risk. More structured support = bigger benefit, protecting against age-related decline for up to 2 years Personalized plans: A 2026 study found bespoke treatment plans targeting nutrition, hormones, infections, mold exposure, etc. improved memory/function in early dementia Drug repurposing: NIH is testing epilepsy drug levetiracetam for mild cognitive impairment. It may slow brain atrophy in people without the APOE ε4 gene New drug pipeline: As of March 2025, NIH funding helped advance 25 new drug candidates to human trials — 18 in Phase 1, 7 in Phase 2/3 AI drug discovery: