AIIMS Delhi study finds yoga may support early Alzheimer’s care

Yoga is edging into a more serious clinical conversation at All India Institute of Medical Sciences in New Delhi, India, where researchers say a structured practice may help support early Alzheimer’s care. The findings do not frame yoga as a cure. Instead, they point to a possible adjunctive role in a disease where memory, mood and daily function can all begin to slide at once.

The study came from AIIMS Delhi’s Departments of Anatomy and Neurology and involved patients with clinically diagnosed mild Alzheimer’s disease alongside cognitively healthy individuals. Patients in the Alzheimer’s group completed supervised 60-minute yoga sessions every day for 12 weeks, with researchers measuring cognitive performance, depressive symptoms and gut microbial composition before and after the program. The paper, published in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease in June 2026, gives the work a peer-reviewed clinical footing rather than a wellness headline.

Dr. Rima Dada, a professor in the Department of Anatomy and the study’s corresponding author, and Dr. Manjari Tripathi, head of the Department of Neurology, were careful not to overstate the results. Tripathi said yoga cannot be considered a cure for Alzheimer’s disease, but may serve as a supportive therapy in early Alzheimer’s disease and mild cognitive impairment. The measured outcomes backed that cautious framing: the report said Montreal Cognitive Assessment scores improved, Patient Health Questionnaire-9 depression scores declined, and the gut microbiome shifted toward more beneficial bacteria and fewer pro-inflammatory microbes.

That gut-health signal is one of the most interesting parts of the study because it links yoga to the gut-brain axis, the two-way pathway scientists increasingly connect to mood and cognition. For clinicians, that makes the work more than a simple exercise story. It suggests a possible low-cost, non-drug option that could sit alongside diagnosis, medication and supervision, especially if future studies can show the same pattern in larger groups and longer follow-up.

The timing matters because dementia remains a major global health burden. The World Health Organization says it can bring physical, psychological, social and economic impacts, with mood and behavior changes sometimes appearing before memory problems do. Alzheimer’s Disease International estimates more than 55 million people are living with dementia worldwide, with the number projected to reach 139 million by 2050, and roughly 60 percent of cases already in low- and middle-income countries. In that context, AIIMS Delhi’s results place yoga not on a pedestal, but in the growing search for practical supports that could fit real-world memory care.