Why Does Alzheimer's Affect People So Differently?

July 9, 2026

It has been a mystery ever since Alzheimer’s disease (AD) was discovered. Why are some AD patients only mildly cognitively impacted by AD, and others lose all cognitive function? Why does memory loss differ among AD patients?

A new study from the Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience (NIN) suggests that the answer to these questions may lie in how a rare group of brain cells, called immature neurons, responds to damage. “About 30 percent of older adults who develop Alzheimer’s disease never get symptoms,” says Evgenia Salta, the study’s lead author. “We don’t really know why. That is a great mystery, and also very important.”