With an estimated 6.9 million Americans aged 65 and older currently living with Alzheimer’s disease, the road to a cure seems long and uncertain.

But as the year comes to a close, experts are reflecting on some of the hopeful advances in diagnosis, treatment and risk management that have been made in 2024.

The Alzheimer’s Association — a Chicago-based nonprofit committed to Alzheimer’s research, care and support — shared its top five significant discoveries from the year.

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1. Third new Alzheimer’s drug is approved

2024 saw a new drug enter the dementia landscape, as the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved Kisunla (donanemab) in July.

This was the third new approval since 2021.

Kisunla, which is made by Eli Lilly, is designed to “slow progression and change the underlying course of the disease,” according to the Association’s press release.

The once-monthly injection is intended for adults with early symptomatic Alzheimer’s disease.

This is the first medication to target amyloid plaques — the proteins that build up in the brains of Alzheimer’s patients, often impairing memory and cognitive function — with evidence to support stopping therapy when amyloid plaques are removed, a company release stated.

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“This is real progress,” said Alzheimer’s Association President and CEO Dr. Joanne Pike in a statement shared with Fox News Digital at the time. 

“[This FDA] approval allows people more options and greater opportunity to have more time. Having multiple treatment options is the kind of advancement we’ve all been waiting for.” 

2. Blood tests could improve speed and accuracy of diagnosis

Research this year has helped move Alzheimer’s blood tests closer to being used in physicians’ offices.

Studies have shown that blood tests can achieve a higher accuracy of diagnosis, which could help fast-track patients’ access to clinical trials and treatments, according to the Alzheimer’s Association.

“This is real progress.”

“Blood tests for Alzheimer’s are demonstrating in research that they could significantly improve a clinician’s accuracy and confidence, provide greater accessibility and a reason for more communication,” the same source stated.

In one study reported this year, a specific blood test was around 90% accurate in identifying Alzheimer’s in patients with cognitive symptoms seen in primary care and at specialized memory care clinics, per the Association.

3. Individuals and caregivers want more support post-diagnosis

People who are newly diagnosed with Alzheimer’s and their caregivers need more support in navigating the health care system.

That’s according to a 2024 Alzheimer’s Association survey, which found that 97% of dementia caregivers expressed a desire for those support systems. 

2024 saw the approval of the first medication to target amyloid plaques, the proteins that build up in the brains of Alzheimer’s patients and often impair memory and cognitive function. (iStock)

A majority of dementia caregivers (70%) also noted that “coordination of care is stressful.”

To help address this, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services in July 2024 launched an eight-year pilot program in dementia care management, called the Guiding an Improved Dementia Experience (GUIDE) model.

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The program aims to work with health care systems to provide supportive services to people living with dementia and their caregivers, with a focus on helping patients remain in their homes and communities, according to the Alzheimer’s Association.

4. Wildfire smoke raises risk of dementia

Air pollution has been linked to an increased risk of dementia, according to 2024 research. 

The 10-year study, which was presented during the Alzheimer’s Association International Conference in Philadelphia in July, found that wildfire smoke can be “particularly hazardous” for brain health.

A 2024 Alzheimer’s Association survey found that 97% of dementia caregivers expressed a desire for those support systems.  (iStock)

The research included more than 1.2 million people in southern California, an area that experiences frequent wildfire activity.

Air pollution produced by wildfires could be more hazardous to health because it is produced at higher temperatures, contains a greater concentration of toxic chemicals, and is smaller in diameter than other sources, the Alzheimer’s Association stated. 

5. Alzheimer’s causes physical changes in the brain

In June 2024, scientists and clinicians published research that showed physical changes that happen in the brain due to Alzheimer’s disease.

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“Defining diseases by the biology has long been standard in many areas of medicine — including cancer, heart disease and diabetes,” the Alzheimer’s Association wrote. 

In June 2024, scientists and clinicians published research that showed physical changes that happen in the brain due to Alzheimer’s disease. (iStock)

“The new publication defines Alzheimer’s as a biological process that begins with brain changes before people exhibit memory and thinking problems.”

These brain changes were found to come ahead of the typical outward symptoms, such as memory loss, confusion, disorientation and trouble with planning or organizing.

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Additional research and support resources from the Alzheimer’s Association can be found at www.alz.org.

Putting a swing in their step could be just the thing to help ease the symptoms of depression in some Parkinson’s patients, a new study suggests.

Patients who took months of dance classes found their depression eased, a small study published recently in the Journal of Medical Internet Research says.

Not only did depression symptoms ease for the Parkinson’s patients, their brain scans displayed changes in their brain areas related to mood, researchers said.

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“It was very cool to see that dance had a positive effect on the mood circuits in the brain, which we could see in the imaging,” senior researcher Joseph DeSouza, an associate professor of neuroscience at York University in Toronto, Canada, said in a university news release.

“These improvements that we could see on MRI brain scans were also reported by the participants via survey,” DeSouza said. 

“Our study is the first to demonstrate these benefits across these two detection methods,” he also said, as news agency SWNS reported.

The study followed 23 participants in the Sharing Dance Parkinson’s program at Canada’s National Ballet School who had been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease — as well as 11 healthy people, some of whom were relatives of the patients.

The team measured mood and depression scores in all participants. 

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Participants took weekly dance classes for eight months, which progressed from simple leg and foot work and pliés to interpretive movements, waltzes and more complicated, choreographed dances, the outlet reported.

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Researchers honed in on a node in the brain, the subcallosal cingulate gyrus (SCG), that has been shown in previous research to be implicated in depression.

The team measured mood and depression scores in all participants using a recognized scale before and after every class, plus they conducted regular MRI scans at York.

Brain scans taken during the study displayed changes in the patients’ brain areas related to mood, according to researchers (not pictured).  (iStock)

After each dance class, they found that reported depression rates dropped — and the effect was cumulative from class to class, with “significant” improvements seen after eight months.

The team also found that the MRI scans showed reduced signals in a frontal-cortex brain region associated with emotional regulation and that in a smaller subset of the participants, a significant decrease in depression scores correlated with changes in the SCG node.

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Co-author Dr. Karolina Bearss, a professor at Algoma University, Canada, said, “We essentially showed that [the] SCG blood oxygen level–dependent signal decreases while dancing over time.”

Parkinson’s is a progressive neurodegenerative disease, the team noted. 

“People with Parkinson’s disease tend to have multiple symptoms that are not just motor-related.” (iStock)

Before diagnosis, there is a “prodromal” phase that can last for two to 10 years. It’s characterized by low mood, even before other symptoms appear, such as tremors.

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“People with Parkinson’s disease tend to have multiple symptoms that are not just motor-related,” said Bearss. “There are a lot of symptoms that include mental and social well-being impairments — one of those being depression.”

“What we’re trying to do is to have people live a better quality of life.”

The new research builds on the team’s previous three-year study that found that dance training helps Parkinson’s patients with motor control, mood and other functions of daily living.

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Dance is thought to have a double benefit, as music activates the brain’s reward centers and the movement acts on sensory and motor circuits.

Professor DeSouza, who has been dancing with participants in the program for 14 years, said that while dancing is not a treatment for Parkinson’s per se, the benefits are clear, according to the report.

He added, “We’re not trying to cure Parkinson’s with dance. What we’re trying to do is to have people live a better quality of life. This goes for both those with the disease, and their families that take care of them – they also get benefits of feeling better.”

Up to half of all Parkinson’s patients suffer from depression or anxiety at some point, the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research notes.

A previous study done at Sydney University found that structured dance (of any genre) is generally as effective as — or even more effective than — other types of physical activity for improving psychological and cognitive outcomes among people with chronic illness as well as healthy people.

Nearly 20% of American adults reported having an anxiety disorder in the past year, data shows — and many are more likely to feel uneasy and anxious as the sun sets.

While “sunset anxiety” isn’t an official medical diagnosis and does not appear in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5), some mental health experts agree that it’s a very real phenomenon.

The symptoms aren’t limited to just anxiety, according to Andrea D. Guastello, PhD, a licensed psychologist at the University of Florida Department of Psychiatry.

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“It can be any psychiatric symptom that increases in frequency or intensity as the sun goes down or at night,” Guastello told Fox News Digital. 

Symptoms may include feelings of depression, isolation and hopelessness that tend to increase at night, the expert said.

What is sunset anxiety, exactly?

Sunset anxiety occurs when a person starts to feel anxious as the sun goes down at the end of the day, Beena Persaud, PsyD, clinical psychologist with Cleveland Clinic Akron General in Akron, Ohio, told Fox News Digital. 

“The lack of natural light can cause people to have less energy and motivation, restless discomfort, worry and nervousness about accomplishing tasks,” she said.

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People who have previously experienced episodes of anxiety and are generally more on the anxious side are more susceptible, Persaud said, as are people who have a heightened sensitivity to light changes and those who consider themselves to be “night owls.”

“Adults are more likely to feel it than teens or children, and this may be due to adults’ sense of responsibility for daily activities,” one expert said. (iStock)

There are no specific gender or racial tendencies for sunset anxiety, the expert noted.

“Adults are more likely to feel it than teens or children, and this may be due to adults’ sense of responsibility for daily activities,” she added.

Common triggers

The onset of sunset anxiety could be related to the circadian rhythm, which is the body’s internal clock that regulates many functions, according to experts. The circadian rhythm is influenced by the production of melatonin, Persaud said.     

“We know there can be hormonal changes with winter and daylight saving time,” she told Fox News Digital. 

“Since our production of melatonin is easily affected by light, early darkness can cause symptoms of both anxiety and depression. The body believes it should be getting ready for bed because of the darkness.”

“The lack of natural light can cause people to have less energy and motivation, restless discomfort, worry and nervousness about accomplishing tasks.”

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Experts report an increase in seasonal anxiety from October to late March. 

“The changing of the seasons and earlier darkness make it a prime time for people to experience both sunset anxiety and seasonal depression,” Persaud said.

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Anxiety can also occur if someone is carrying a heavy mental load of activities and responsibilities and struggling to complete them all by the evening.

“Darkness occurring earlier makes us physically and emotionally tired, and we feel as if the day is ending before we can achieve our daily goals,” said Persaud.

Tips to alleviate sunset anxiety

Guastello at the University of Florida offered the following tips to help curb anxiety around sunset.

If you experience worsening or persistent symptoms of sunset anxiety that don’t improve with the above lifestyle changes, experts recommend consulting with a mental health provider. (iStock)

Set reasonable goals for yourself.

Plan enjoyable activities around the time your anxiety usually kicks up.

Practice good sleep hygiene.