Dementia

A peer support program from Dementia Australia is helping to empower people living with dementia.

New research suggests that a specific group of brain cells acts as a master regulator for the brain’s waste clearance system, offering a potential new target for treating dementia.

Kai-Hsiang Chuang

A new calculator tool offers clinicians a quick, evidence-based way to identify patients at higher risk of post-stroke dementia, supporting earlier intervention and, ultimately, helping stroke survivors maintain independence and quality of life for as long as possible.

Jess Lo

Dementia represents one of the greatest public health challenges of our time. It encompasses a range of neurodegenerative disorders marked by progressive cognitive decline, memory loss and loss of independence. Among these diseases, Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is the most prevalent, accounting for approximately 60–70% of all dementia cases worldwide.

Saeed Shanehsazzadeh, Perminder Sachdev

This week, Australia’s Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) approved a drug called donanemab for people in the early stages of Alzheimer’s disease.

Steve Macfarlane

The LGBTI+ Memory Lane Cafe offers members of the LGBTQIA+ community who also have dementia a place to socialise, and to be included. Dementia is the leading cause of death for Australian women, and social interaction is one of 14 modifiable risk factors that could reduce the number of people with dementia in Australia by 45%.

Becca Whitehead

As dementia edges closer to becoming the leading cause of death for Australians, it is crucial that we adopt a dual approach to focus on the future brain health of the nation as well as providing more targeted, effective support to those impacted by dementia.

Tanya Buchanan, Catherine McCarthy

Australia has an exciting new podcast called “Hold the Moment”. It’s co-hosted by respected journalist and Dementia Australia ambassador Hamish Macdonald, whose father has dementia, and dementia advocate Jim Rogers, who is living with younger onset Alzheimer’s disease, diagnosed in 2022. The podcast taps into real life stories and experiences of people living with dementia, along with great tips to help with living well after diagnosis.

Jim Rogers

Death from heart disease is at its lowest since records began in the 1960s. But dementia is shaping up to be Australia’s biggest killer.

Sally Block