Researchers in the US have announced new findings which highlight factors that could affect the risk of memory problems as we age.

Researchers based at King’s College London have joined forces with other scientists across the world to discover a protein in blood that appears to predict 10-year decline in memory and thinking skills in healthy people.

Researchers in Australia have reported that levels of an iron storage protein called ferritin may be useful in predicting how problems with memory and thinking will progress in older people.

Results of a four-year trial have suggested that a Mediterranean diet, supplemented with either olive oil or nuts, may help thinking skills in some older people. The study is published on Monday 11 May in the journal JAMA Internal Medicine

Researchers in the US have reported that sleep-disordered breathing, characterised by abnormal breathing patterns during sleep, may be associated with an earlier onset of memory and thinking problems in older people. The results are published on 15 April in the journal Neurology.

Researchers in the US have found that older people with a strong sense of purpose in life may be less likely to have damage in the brain caused by decreased blood flow. The study is published in the journal Stroke.

Scientists in Cambridge have found that a particular molecule may prevent the build-up of a hallmark Alzheimer’s protein. The study is published on Monday 16 February in the journal Nature Structural & Molecular Biology.

Research led by scientists at Trinity College Dublin has identified a protein called NLRP3 which plays a role in inflammatory diseases such as multiple sclerosis and cryopyrin-associated periodic syndrome (CAPS). The researchers have developed a compound that can block the action of NLRP3 and shown that it can reduce the severity of disease in a mouse showing features of human multiple sclerosis. The research team suggests that the compound could have benefits across a wide range of immune disorders, as well as against diseases like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s.

Research in the US has found that former National Football League (NFL) players who started playing American tackle football before the age of 12 may have worse memory in later life, compared to those who began playing the sport later in their youth. The study is published on Wednesday 28 January in the journal Neurology online.

A new study has linked the long-term use of certain medications to a higher risk of dementia in older people. The study, which focused on drugs that alter the action of a brain chemical called acetylcholine, is published on Monday 26 January in the journal JAMA Internal Medicine.