Dementia research has reached a major milestone: Alzheimer’s disease is no longer untreatable, according to a landmark global report. The growing range of treatment options marks a shift from seeking a cure to focusing on avoiding the disease entirely.
‘Era of unprecedented activity’
The Alzheimer’s research field is “witnessing a period of remarkable scientific momentum,” said the 2026 World Alzheimer Report, which is coauthored by Alzheimer’s Disease International and health journalist Paul Gallagher. The ADI is a global federation of dementia associations affiliated with the World Health Organization.
After years of being considered an “inevitable consequence of old age and neurodegeneration,” dementia research has entered an “era of unprecedented activity.” Experts are hopeful.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
Join more than 350,000 subscribers and keep yourself informed with a selection of The Week’s most interesting, enlightening and entertaining stories - plus daily puzzles.
Join more than 350,000 subscribers and keep yourself informed with a selection of The Week’s most interesting, enlightening and entertaining stories - plus daily puzzles.
Latest Videos FromThe Week
Hundreds of clinical trials are investigating “medicines, diagnostics, lifestyle interventions, digital technologies, rehabilitation programs” and new care models for the disease, said the report. The disease is now seen as a condition for which “earlier diagnosis, better understanding of disease biology, and a wider range of interventions may collectively improve outcomes.”
During the past five years alone, novel drugs such as donanemab (brand name Kisunla) and lecanemab (brand name Leqembi) have been shown to “modestly slow decline in early Alzheimer’s,” while growing evidence suggests “some dementia cases could potentially be delayed or prevented through risk reduction,” said Science Alert.
What’s next?
There are drugs that “millions of people are taking right now for other reasons” that might also be able to help with Alzheimer’s disease, said Vox. GLP-1s “in particular are the big ones.”
It’s still “sort of theoretical,” but the Alzheimer’s Association is “putting $100 million behind some research projects” to investigate this possible link, said Vox. Years from now, when “millions of people are now on these GLP-1 drugs,” we may “start to see Alzheimer’s less often.” This would be “another reason to be optimistic” that the “future for this disease is looking brighter.”
