{"id":530893,"date":"2026-03-18T13:52:10","date_gmt":"2026-03-18T13:52:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/530893\/"},"modified":"2026-03-18T13:52:10","modified_gmt":"2026-03-18T13:52:10","slug":"could-a-nasal-swab-help-detect-alzheimers-earlier-duke-researchers-think-so-wral-com","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/530893\/","title":{"rendered":"Could a nasal swab help detect Alzheimer\u2019s earlier? Duke researchers think so :: WRAL.com"},"content":{"rendered":"

Newly approved Alzheimer\u2019s drugs are offering hope for patients and their families, but they work best when the disease is detected early.\u00a0<\/p>\n

On Wednesday,\u00a0a new study published by Duke researchers<\/a> highlights the surprising place that may help doctors spot the disease sooner: the nose.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Dr. Brad Goldstein, a Duke Health physician and professor at the Duke School of Medicine, is leading new efforts to investigate whether a nasal swab could be used to spot early signs of Alzheimer\u2019s.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI see a range of patients with problems affecting the nose and sinuses,\u201d Goldstein said. \u201cMy lab studies smell loss or olfactory problems, and there is a very strong association between smell loss and neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer\u2019s disease and Parkinson\u2019s disease.\u201d<\/p>\n

Goldstein told WRAL he first began working with the Alzheimer\u2019s Disease Research Center<\/a>, founded in 2021 in partnership with Duke and UNC, to study the connection further.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWe wrote a grant a few years ago to the NIH, proposing the idea of using the nose as a window into the nervous system to try and learn more about both smell loss and Alzheimer\u2019s disease,\u201d Goldstein said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

He said the idea was to think of the nose as \u201ca window to the brain.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe had the idea of revisiting the notion of sampling this area in the back of the nose where both neural tissue and immune cells live,\u201d said Goldstein. \u201cWe look at the nose with a little endoscope and a light, and take a small brush and swab that area.\u201d<\/p>\n

Researchers first numb the nose with a spray, then use a small olfactory brush to collect tissue from the back of the nose.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Alzheimer\u2019s develops slowly as abnormal proteins build up in the brain over many years, eventually leading to memory loss and cognitive decline.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Detecting the disease early has been difficult because many tests only identify the proteins once significant damage has already occurred, and sampling brain tissue in living patients is invasive.<\/p>\n

The nasal swab procedure researchers are studying could offer a much simpler and less invasive alternative.<\/p>\n

\u201cRight now the standard things are a little more invasive,\u201d Goldstein explained. \u201cA lumbar puncture to sample spinal fluid and measure chemicals and things that are in there. It\u2019s invasive and not without some risks.\u201d<\/p>\n

Other tests like amyloid PET scans are less invasive but are expensive, and therefore not widely used as the standard of care. Blood tests that are currently approved for use look for markers that only appear later in the disease\u2019s progression.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re looking at neural and immune tissue. We\u2019re not looking at things that are leaking out into the serum and into the blood,\u201d the researcher noted.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Alzheimer\u2019s is the sixth-leading cause of death in the U.S. Caring for people with Alzheimer\u2019s was estimated to cost the U.S. more than $380 billion in 2025, according to the Alzheimer\u2019s Association<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Goldstein said the findings are early and more research is needed, but stated, \u201cThe difference we could potentially make in preventing disease progression for patients and families would be huge.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mary Umstead was one of the people drawn to Goldstein\u2019s research. The 60-year-old Durham resident is all too familiar with the burden the disease brings.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Umstead lost her sister, Mariah, at the age of 62 to Alzheimer\u2019s disease.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe was the most wonderful person,\u201d Umstead said. \u201cShe was really warm and kind and genuine, along with being smart and funny.\u201d<\/p>\n

Her sister\u2019s earliest symptoms were initially brushed off as \u2018getting old,\u2019 Umstead said. Looking back now, she said she realized her sister struggled for years before her diagnosis.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt started out slowly as we all do as we get older, we can\u2019t think of the name for things, or we confuse the name for things,\u201d Umstead shared.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Behavioral changes then set in with Mariah growing more irritable, a common symptom of the neurodegenerative disease.<\/p>\n

Umstead said her sister began working 80-hour weeks as she struggled to keep up with tasks that once came easily.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe had to always keep an eye on her just to make sure she was safe,\u201d Umstead said. \u201cShe was just a very capable person. To watch her lose that capability and to watch her lose herself \u2013 heartbreaking.\u201d<\/p>\n

Umstead told WRAL she was eager to get involved with the study. She said participating felt like a way to help other families facing the disease.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf I could give hours or days to anybody with their loved one, I would,\u201d she said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Umstead continued, \u201cThey now have medications that won\u2019t cure the disease, but slow the progress. If you know that earlier, maybe you can save more of who that person is. Save more of who your loved one is and their sense of humor and their snarky self \u2014 the parts that you love about your people.\u201d<\/p>\n

Umstead said she\u2019ll always remember Mariah as her big sister who \u201cmade everyone feel seen,\u201d even the tiniest among us.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cShe once saw a hummingbird caught in a spider\u2019s web. She rescued the hummingbird and the hummingbird rested in her hand for a minute before it flew away,\u201d Umstead recalled. \u201cShe felt bad for the spider, so she found a fly and gave that to the spider. She didn\u2019t want the spider not to have its dinner.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

When asked what her advice was for other caregivers, Umstead said to remember, \u201cIt\u2019s not a sprint, it\u2019s a marathon.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cGet support, and get help,\u201d she said. \u201cIf people offer to help, let them.\u201d<\/p>\n

As she cuddled Mariah\u2019s stray-turned-loveable housecat Stormy, Umstead urged us all to cherish the small things.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThey say, \u2018Stop and smell the roses,\u2019 but you know, stop and lick the ice cream! Or call your friend. Or do the thing that\u2019s on your bucket list. There\u2019s no need to wait,\u201d she said. \u201cWe put off things and we think we have all the time in the world, and that\u2019s just not guaranteed.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Newly approved Alzheimer\u2019s drugs are offering hope for patients and their families, but they work best when the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":530894,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[34],"tags":[6053,88309,97],"class_list":["post-530893","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-health","tag-alzheimers","tag-duke-health","tag-health"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/530893","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=530893"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/530893\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/530894"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=530893"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=530893"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=530893"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}