Your nose could detect Alzheimer’s years before symptoms begin

A new study reveals that the loss of smell is an early, active immune attack in Alzheimer's, potentially offering a crucial window for earlier diagnosis. | Contesto: cronaca

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• Your nose could detect Alzheimer’s years before symptoms begin

Contesto

A significant decline in the sense of smell may be one of the earliest detectable signs of Alzheimer's disease, occurring years before the onset of memory loss and cognitive decline, according to new scientific research. The findings, published in a recent study, reveal that this sensory loss is not a passive symptom but the result of a targeted, destructive process within the brain. Immune cells, upon detecting abnormal protein signals on the surfaces of smell-related nerve fibers, actively attack and destroy these crucial connections. This neurological damage begins in the very early stages of Alzheimer's pathology, positioning olfactory dysfunction as a potential frontline indicator of the disease. The research provides a mechanistic explanation for a clinical observation long noted by neurologists: patients who later develop Alzheimer's often experience a diminished sense of smell. The study demonstrates that this is a direct consequence of the disease process itself. Specialized immune cells in the brain, known as microglia, appear to identify the olfactory nerve fibers as compromised or foreign due to the presence of abnormal proteins, potentially early forms of amyloid or tau. In response, these cells engage in a process called phagocytosis, essentially consuming and clearing the nerve endings. This attack severs the critical link between the nose and the brain's olfactory processing centers, silencing the sense of smell. This discovery shifts the understanding of early Alzheimer's from a silent, slow accumulation of plaques and tangles to a phase that includes active, targeted immune activity with tangible functional consequences. The olfactory system, with its direct and relatively short neural pathway into the brain, appears uniquely vulnerable to this early assault. Scientists suggest that the pathological proteins may first aggregate or manifest in regions connected to smell processing, triggering the immune response long before other brain areas responsible for memory and reasoning show widespread damage. The process highlights the inflammatory component of Alzheimer's as a driver of symptoms, not merely a secondary effect. The implications for...

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Categoria: cronaca