A large Finnish case-control study suggests that postmenopausal hormone therapy results in a 9-17% increase in the risk of Alzheimer’s disease. However, the small effect size, and likely confounding of use effect, does not provide strong evidence for a causal relationship.

In this well-designed prospective cohort study of patients with REM behavior disorder, the investigators reported that 73.5% of patients developed a neurodegenerative disorder after a 12-year follow-up.

Delirium is a complex disorder marked by the acute onset of mental status change with an associated fluctuating course. Despite the fact that delirium is a common clinical entity in elderly hospitalized patients, the condition may present in any patient regardless of medical comorbidities. Recognition within the emergency setting is becoming increasingly important, as the diagnosis frequently is missed.

Neocortical tau pathology was associated with worse antemortem cognition in this large study of Parkinson’s disease dementia and dementia with Lewy bodies. Regional brain variations correlated with specific cognitive domains.

The authors of a review of randomized, controlled trials found that mindfulness-based stress reduction may reduce short-term anxiety and depressive symptoms in people caring for family members with dementia.

Magnetic resonance imaging of the brain in community-dwelling people (average age of 60 years) found that a long-term, high-quality diet was associated with larger hippocampal volumes after an average interval of 11 years.

Optical coherence tomography (OCT) is an innovative imaging device that measures thickness of retinal nerve fiber layers and ganglion cells. Thinning of these layers is associated with current and future risk of dementia.

The use of amyloid positron emission tomography scanning to assist in accurate diagnosis of patients with symptoms of cognitive impairment as well as frank dementia results in a change of diagnosis in at least 25% of patients.

Using a genetic risk score of 23 common genetic variants and apolipoprotein E genotype could help stratify individuals into those very likely to those very unlikely to develop late-onset Alzheimer’s disease and dementia.

The Montreal Parkinson Risk of Dementia Scale provides a simple eight-item screening tool with high predictive value for developing Parkinson’s disease dementia.