A new study, published in Neurology Open Access, shows an association between three common vascular risk factors and the amount of dementia-free time people experience after age 55. The study hints that dementia is not inevitable and that addressing some modifiable vascular risks around or before midlife might extend dementia-free life for years.

When humans and other animals move through familiar or unfamiliar environments, their brains rely on numerous intricate neural processes to decide which path to take next. Past studies have identified a specific population of cells in the hippocampus, a structure deep within the brain, that appears to play a key role in spatial navigation.

In the 1970s, PVC bags revolutionized the storage of blood and blood products for transfusion. Disposable plastic (PVC) bags replaced reusable glass bottles, making the process more convenient and safer from contamination. Over half a century later, the same disposable plastic bags are creating a new kind of problem because of microplastics (MPs). These tiny particles, less than 5 millimeters in size, are formed by the polymer degradation of plastic materials as they break down and age.

A protein named tau, which has been strongly implicated in the world's No. 1 cause of dementia—Alzheimer's disease—and several other neurodegenerative disorders, may spur these diseases in a way that differs greatly from the pathological pathway usually ascribed to it.

Since its discovery in Japan in 2009, a deadly fungus has emerged in hospitals around the world. The pathogen, known as Candida auris, lives silently on the skin. But it can be deadly if it reaches the bloodstream, killing about 3,000 patients in hospitals and long-term care facilities a year in the U.S.