A simple nasal swab may help detect Alzheimer’s disease long before memory and thinking problems begin.

In a new study from Duke Health, researchers discovered cells collected high inside the nose can reveal early biological changes linked to the disease.

Using a tiny brush, clinicians collect nerve and immune cells from the area responsible for smell — then analyze which genes are active.

Those patterns offer clues about what’s happening in the brain — even in people who show no symptoms yet.

Analyzing samples from 22 participants, the team distinguished people with early or diagnosed Alzheimer’s from healthy volunteers about 81% of the time.

Mary Umstead joined the study after losing her sister to early-onset Alzheimer’s at the age of 57.

"When the opportunity came along to be part of a research study, I just jumped at it because I would never want any family to have to go through that kind of loss that we went through with Mariah." (Mary Umstead, Study Participant)

Umstead says the family noticed signs of the disease long before the diagnosis.

"I would never want any patient to go through what she went through either." Mary Umstead, Study Participant

The researchers say current blood tests often detect markers that appear later in the disease. But using living nerve cells from the nose may offer a more direct look at early changes in the brain.

Dr. Barry Goldstein, Duke University School of Medicine, says, “If we can diagnose people early enough, we might be able to start therapies that prevent them from ever developing clinical Alzheimer’s.”

The team is now expanding the research to larger groups and exploring whether the swab could help track disease progression and response to treatment over time.

Source: Duke Health
Image/Video Credit: Duke Health/Shawn Rocco

Could a Simple Nasal Swab Help Catch Alzheimer’s Disease Sooner?

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