Overview
- Duke Health researchers sampled nerve and immune cells from high inside the nose using a numbing spray and a tiny brush.
- Gene-expression analysis from 22 participants yielded a combined score that distinguished early or clinical Alzheimer’s from controls about 81% of the time.
- The approach identified changes in individuals with biological signs such as elevated amyloid despite no memory or thinking symptoms.
- The peer-reviewed findings were published March 18 in Nature Communications and the study received funding from the National Institutes of Health.
- The team is expanding to larger cohorts and evaluating use for treatment monitoring, and Duke has filed a U.S. patent as experts call for broader validation.