Alzheimer’s disease is a condition that affects the brain and causes memory loss, confusion, and difficulty with everyday tasks.
It is one of the most common types of dementia, and many people wonder if there is anything they can do to avoid it later in life.
Scientists at the Institute for Regenerative Medicine are trying to answer that question. They are studying what factors increase the risk of Alzheimer’s and what helps protect the brain.
Their recent research, published in the journal Annals of Neurology, looks at how things like lifestyle, health, education, and even sex differences affect the brain over time.
The researchers found that regular exercise, eating a healthy diet, staying socially active, and doing things that challenge your brain can all help reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s. Having a good education and a higher income may also play a role. But these protective factors don’t work the same way for everyone.
For example, people who don’t move much may develop harmful proteins in the brain, such as beta-amyloid and tau, which are linked to Alzheimer’s. On the other hand, being physically active helps the brain stay connected and supports memory and thinking skills.
The researchers also found that men and women respond differently to some risk and protective factors.
For example, exercise may benefit women more than men in certain ways, and health conditions like heart disease may raise the risk more for men. That means prevention efforts need to be more personalized, considering a person’s sex and lifestyle.
Dr. Valerie Treyer and Dr. Anton Gietl, who led the study, believe that understanding these differences is the first step in building personalized prevention plans.
These would be tailored to fit each person’s unique life circumstances, habits, and risks. Dr. Gietl, a psychiatrist, also runs a prevention program in Zurich that focuses on each patient’s strengths and needs.
Another interesting part of the research looks at something called cognitive reserve. Some older adults have signs of Alzheimer’s in their brains—such as plaque buildup—but still live normal lives without memory problems.
This could mean their brains have built strong networks from years of healthy habits, helping them resist the damage. In fact, the team found that people who stayed active and healthy in their younger years performed better on brain tests later in life.
Because of this, the researchers say that prevention should begin as early as possible, even before any symptoms appear. But how can doctors find out who’s at risk early on? One promising method involves blood tests.
Dr. Christoph Gericke, a neuroimmunologist on the team, found that some immune cells increase when Alzheimer’s-related changes begin in the brain—before any symptoms are visible.
In another study, the group identified two blood markers that, when combined with mental tests, can help detect people at higher risk of cognitive decline. These tools may help doctors run better clinical trials and improve early prevention.
To put all these pieces together, the team uses a wide range of skills—from brain imaging to immunology and statistics. They are also running a long-term study, following people between 50 and 89 years old for more than 10 years.
Some had no memory issues at the start, while others had only mild problems. This allows the researchers to see how Alzheimer’s develops and how early signs appear.
Their goal is to catch Alzheimer’s early—before it takes hold—and use low-risk, personalized strategies to delay or prevent it. If the disease is already active, current treatments can only slow it down, not stop it. That’s why early detection and prevention are so important.
In the end, the researchers believe that a full-picture approach, using knowledge from many areas, is the best way to fight Alzheimer’s. Prevention works best when it starts early, is personalized, and considers all the factors that make each person unique.
If you care about Alzheimer’s disease, please read studies about vitamin D deficiency linked to Alzheimer’s and dementia, and strawberries can be good defence against Alzheimer’s.
For more health information, please see recent studies about foods that reduce Alzheimer’s risk, and oral cannabis extract may help reduce Alzheimer’s symptoms.
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