Mayo Clinic researchers are uncovering the earliest shifts in disease biology — long before symptoms appear — revealing how disease takes root and opening new possibilities to change its course. 

By the time a disease is diagnosed, it may have been developing silently for years. Along the way, the body leaves clues: proteins shift, metabolism changes, immune responses evolve, and environmental exposures leave measurable traces. Until recently, many of these early signals were impossible to detect.

Mayo Clinic researchers are now charting that hidden period between health and disease — a new frontier in medicine that could transform how conditions such as Alzheimer's disease, heart failure, pulmonary fibrosis, chronic liver disease and chronic kidney disease are identified and intercepted before symptoms emerge.

The new Mayo Clinic initiative, called Precure Research, brings together biospecimens, advanced biological data, environmental health research, longitudinal clinical data, wearable technologies and artificial intelligence (AI) to better understand how disease begins, predict risk earlier and create new opportunities for prevention.  

"Precure Research marks the beginning of the next era of scientific discovery and its translation into patient care."

Dr. Konstantinos Lazaridis

A glimpse of what's possible 

The initiative is already generating discoveries. Mayo Clinic scientists have identified inherited risks for cancer and cardiovascular disease in nearly 2,000 people — many of whom had no previous indication they were at risk. Other studies have shown that certain precancerous changes can be detected years before cancer develops. AI can help clinicians identify signs of pancreatic cancer years before diagnosis, while subtle biological changes linked to Alzheimer's disease begin decades before memory loss. Mayo Clinic researchers are using AI, genetics and wearable technologies to reveal inherited heart disease before heart failure.

"Precure Research marks the beginning of the next era of scientific discovery and its translation into patient care," says Konstantinos Lazaridis, M.D., the Carlson and Nelson Endowed Executive Director of Mayo Clinic's Center for Individualized Medicine and director of Precure Research. "We are building the analytical and clinical tools needed to investigate questions that medicine has long recognized but has not been able to fully answer in ways that directly benefit patients."

The invisible years before diagnosis 

The initiative combines data from genes, proteins, metabolites, clinical records, wearable devices and environmental exposures to create a comprehensive view of how health changes and disease develops over time.

Underlying Precure Research is a new Mayo Clinic research ecosystem designed to study health and disease at an unprecedented scale. The initiative aims to build Mayo Clinic's largest integrated collection of biospecimens and scientific and health data to accelerate disease prediction and prevention.

Biological samples become data, and data becomes insight into the mechanisms of disease. Those insights drive the discovery of new biomarkers and therapies while informing smarter clinical trials.

AI helps researchers power that transformation, analyzing billions of data points simultaneously to reveal patterns that would otherwise remain invisible.

"Genomics showed us the blueprint, the underlying architecture of human biology," Dr. Lazaridis says. "Now we're watching that structure in motion — shifting, adapting, unfolding over time, shaped by the world around us and inside us, ultimately influencing the unique lives we each live." 

A lifetime of exposures

Disease is shaped by more than genetics alone. Across a lifetime, environmental and lifestyle exposures leave biological changes that accumulate over time. Scientists call this the exposome: the sum of those exposures and their effects on human biology.

These influences range from air, water and diet to pollutants, heavy metals, pesticides, physical activity, sleep, stress, noise and light.

"The air we breathe, the food we eat and the places we live leave a biological imprint," Dr. Lazaridis says. "Understanding those accumulated influences is essential to understanding why disease develops in one person and not another."

Researchers can now measure many of these exposures directly in blood and other biospecimens. Early efforts focus on heavy metals, pesticides and microplastics, linking those findings with geographic data to better understand how the places people live may influence their long-term health.

The exposome also captures protective influences, including nutrients and bioactive compounds that may support resilience and regulate inflammation, aging and metabolism.

A new vision for medicine 

The initial focus of Precure Research includes diseases of the brain, heart, kidneys, liver, and lungs, and their intersection with biological pathways such as inflammation, oxidative stress, aging and metabolic dysfunction.

Its long-term aim is to extend healthspan — the number of years people live in good health, free from chronic disease and disability — by addressing the drivers of chronic disease.

Precure Research is part of Mayo Clinic's Bold. Forward. strategy to Cure, Connect and Transform healthcare — helping define a future where disease is identified earlier, understood more completely and intercepted before it takes hold.

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PHOENIX — Researchers have validated a genetic scoring tool that may help physicians diagnose idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis and identify which patients are at greatest risk for severe outcomes, including death or the need for a lung transplant. The findings come from a new international study of more than 570,000 people co-led by Mayo Clinic and Brigham and Women's Hospital.

Published in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, the study is one of the largest real-world evaluations of a polygenic risk score for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. The findings bring this genomic approach one step closer to clinical care.

"Polygenic risk scores add a new layer of biological insight into the prediction of pulmonary fibrosis and mortality outcomes, bringing us closer to a future where diagnosis, prognosis and treatment are informed by each patient's unique molecular signatures."

- Dr. Victor Ortega

Researchers analyzed genomic and electronic health record data from four major biobanks in the U.S. and U.K., including the Mayo Clinic Biobank and Mayo Clinic Tapestry. They calculated a polygenic risk score for each participant by combining the effects of more than 60,000 DNA variants associated with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. While each genetic variant contributes only a small amount of risk, together they reveal patterns of inherited susceptibility that would otherwise be difficult to detect.

The researchers then tested whether the score could identify patients with the disease and predict clinical outcomes.

People with high polygenic risk scores were nearly three times more likely to have the disease than those with lower scores. The genetic score became even more predictive as researchers applied increasingly specific definitions of the disease, suggesting the score may one day help distinguish idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis from other forms of interstitial lung disease.

Among patients with the disease, those with high genetic risk were 23% more likely to die or require a lung transplant, indicating the score may also help identify patients at greatest risk of poor outcomes.

"Every patient has a unique genetic blueprint that we can use to estimate risk for the development of disease," says Victor Ortega, M.D., Ph.D., a pulmonologist, associate director of Mayo Clinic's Center for Individualized Medicine in Arizona, and a co-senior author of the study. "Polygenic risk scores add a new layer of biological insight into the prediction of pulmonary fibrosis and mortality outcomes, bringing us closer to a future where diagnosis, prognosis and treatment are informed by each patient's unique molecular signatures."

"Showing that this approach works across more than half a million people receiving routine clinical care is an important step toward understanding how it can ultimately benefit patients."

- Dr. Christopher Grilli

Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis causes irreversible scarring of the lungs that progressively limits a person's ability to breathe. More than 100,000 Americans are living with the disease, and an estimated 30,000 to 40,000 new cases are diagnosed each year, according to the National Institutes of Health.

Because its symptoms often resemble those of other interstitial lung diseases, diagnosis can be delayed until significant, irreversible lung damage has already occurred. Confirming the diagnosis sometimes requires an invasive lung biopsy to collect lung tissue. Researchers hope a noninvasive genetic test using DNA from a blood or saliva sample may help reduce the need for those procedures in selected patients.

"Most polygenic risk scores are developed in carefully selected research populations," says Christopher Grilli, Pharm.D., a researcher at Mayo Clinic's Center for Individualized Medicine and co-first author of the study. "Showing that this approach also works across more than half a million people receiving routine clinical care is an important step toward understanding how it can ultimately benefit patients."

If further validated, researchers envision genomic risk scores complementing imaging and other diagnostic tools to help physicians diagnose the disease with greater confidence.

This research aligns with Mayo Clinic's Precure Research initiative, which seeks to uncover the earliest biological changes associated with disease and translate those discoveries into clinical tools that improve diagnosis, personalize care and ultimately change the course of disease. As part of that effort, the Precure-Lung study, led by Dr. Ortega, is expanding Mayo Clinic's research into interstitial lung diseases, including idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.

For a complete list of authors, disclosures and funding, review the study. 

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About Mayo Clinic 
Mayo Clinic is a nonprofit organization committed to innovation in clinical practice, education and research, and providing compassion, expertise and answers to everyone who needs healing. Visit the Mayo Clinic News Network for additional Mayo Clinic news. 

Media contact:  

• Kelley Luckstein, Mayo Clinic Communications, newsbureau@mayo.edu

The post Researchers chart a genetic path to diagnosing pulmonary fibrosis and predicting outcomes appeared first on Mayo Clinic News Network.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Mayo Clinic researchers have identified a previously unrecognized way the kidneys regulate water balance — an advance that could lead to improved treatments for polycystic kidney disease (PKD) and other disorders. The study, led by Fouad Chebib, M.D., a nephrologist at Mayo Clinic, is published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation.

The findings build on decades of scientific understanding by revealing an additional pathway the kidney uses to control water balance. Until now, the body's ability to concentrate urine — and prevent dehydration — has been thought to depend primarily on the hormone vasopressin. Dr. Chebib's team discovered an alternative mechanism that operates independently of that system.

"The kidney's ability to regulate water is one of the most fundamental processes in the body," Dr. Chebib says. "It's not every day that you uncover a new way it carries out that function."

Polycystic kidney disease is a common inherited condition that causes fluid-filled cysts to grow in the kidneys over time, gradually reducing kidney function and often leading to kidney failure. It affects millions of people worldwide, including an estimated 140,000 people in the U.S. with the most common form, autosomal dominant PKD (ADPKD). Many patients eventually require dialysis or a kidney transplant.

Watch: 1940s-era drug shows new promise for kidney disease

Dr. Chebib's team studies how kidney cysts grow in PKD using lab-grown cell models. As part of that work, they tested compounds expected to worsen the disease process by increasing cellular signals linked to cyst growth. One of those compounds was probenecid, a drug first used in the 1940s to conserve limited supplies of penicillin by reducing its urinary excretion.

"We thought this drug would make the disease process worse," Dr. Chebib says. "Instead, it did the opposite."

Rather than promoting cyst growth, the drug slowed it. After repeating the experiments multiple times, the team realized they had uncovered something important.

Further investigation revealed that probenecid affects how kidney cells handle urate, a molecule commonly associated with gout. Inside the cell, urate acts as a signal — triggering a chain of events that helps move water channels to the cell surface. This allows the kidney to reabsorb water and concentrate urine without relying on vasopressin, the hormone traditionally thought to control this process.

"This represents a distinct pathway from what is described in traditional physiology models," Dr. Chebib says. "It demonstrates that the kidney has an additional mechanism to preserve water."

For patients with PKD, the discovery could address one of the biggest challenges of current treatment. The only approved therapy, tolvaptan, works by blocking vasopressin, which slows cyst growth but causes patients to produce very large amounts of urine — often 6 to 7 liters a day. That side effect can be difficult to live with and leads some patients to stop treatment.

In preclinical studies and a small clinical trial, adding probenecid reduced urine volume and nighttime urination while preserving the treatment's effectiveness.

After taking probenecid, patients' urine volume dropped by about 30% on average, and they went from waking up several times a night to urinate to about once per night. Many also reported improved quality of life.

"The goal is to preserve the therapeutic benefit of tolvaptan while reducing its burden," Dr. Chebib says.

Despite these promising results, researchers are not planning to rely on probenecid as a long-term solution. The drug is decades old, affects multiple systems in the body and is not widely available today. Instead, the team is using what they learned to design more targeted therapies.

"Probenecid helped us uncover the mechanism," Dr. Chebib says. "Our goal is to take this insight and develop therapies designed specifically for this pathway."

For Dr. Chebib, the work is rooted in early inspiration. He was drawn to kidney research after his father developed PKD.

"This has been a long and deeply purposeful journey," he says. "It started with a personal motivation and led to something that could ultimately benefit patients."

For a complete list of authors, disclosures and funding, see the study.

JOURNALISTS: Soundbites with Dr. Chebib are available in the downloads below.

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About Mayo Clinic
Mayo Clinic is a nonprofit organization committed to innovation in clinical practice, education and research, and providing compassion, expertise and answers to everyone who needs healing. Visit the Mayo Clinic News Network for additional Mayo Clinic news.

Media contact:

• Sharon Theimer, Mayo Clinic Communications, newsbureau@mayo.edu

The post Researchers identify new kidney pathway with help from 1940s-era drug, may improve polycystic kidney disease treatment (VIDEO) appeared first on Mayo Clinic News Network.

A new era of medicine is emerging at Mayo Clinic — one that finds disease before symptoms appear 

ROCHESTER, Minn. — When Mayo Clinic researchers sequenced the genomes of 484 seemingly healthy adults, they found that about 13% carried a serious, previously unrecognized genomic risk — conditions those patients did not know about and that standard care would likely miss.

Nearly all participants, 98.6%, had at least one genetic finding, and for most, the results called for monitoring. The study, published in Genetics in Medicine, also takes a closer look at what it takes to turn those findings into the proper follow-up care.

Among the 13%, the actionable findings pointed to serious risks, including hereditary breast and ovarian cancer; Lynch syndrome, linked to colorectal cancer; cardiomyopathy; long QT syndrome; and amyloidosis.

"These are people traditional testing based on symptoms or family history would not identify," says Dr. Konstantinos Lazaridis, the Carlson and Nelson Endowed Executive Director of the Center for Individualized Medicine and senior author of the study. "This study helps define the blueprint for integrating genomic insight into care at scale — turning information into decisions that can change the trajectory of disease."

From discovery to care

Identifying the risk, it turns out, is the easiest part. Acting on it is far more complex. Nearly every case required clinical interpretation, documentation and communication. This work fell largely to genetic counselors, who reviewed results, prepared individualized summaries and helped guide next steps for patients and care teams.

"Genetic counselors are often the first people to share this kind of information with patients," says Jessa Bidwell, a certified research genetic counselor and first author of the study. "There can be surprise, anxiety, devastation, and at times relief at finally having an explanation. Our role is to meet people in that moment and help them understand what their health risks might be, based on the genetic finding, and their personal and family history."

Most participants with actionable findings followed through, completing referrals and connecting with primary care specialists. Yet fewer than half had a documented conversation with a primary care professional after receiving results — underscoring how difficult it remains to integrate genomic findings into routine care.

The study positions predictive genomic screening as both a clinical opportunity and a systems challenge. The science exists. Researchers and clinicians are still building the infrastructure to act on it consistently.

At Mayo Clinic, that infrastructure is beginning to take shape through an initiative called Precure. Genomic screening is one part of that initiative, which aims to detect disease earlier by combining genetic data with other biological signals.

"Precure is one example of a moonshot for human health at Mayo Clinic," says Dr. Lazaridis, who leads the initiative. "It reflects Mayo Clinic's commitment to move medicine beyond treatment and toward lasting wellness." - Dr. Lazaridis

Predicting disease before it begins 

Most diseases don't arrive without warning. They begin with small shifts in genes, molecules, proteins and immune signals that develop over time, often years before symptoms appear.

Precure is Mayo Clinic's enterprise-wide effort to detect those early signals and intervene sooner. Powered by advanced computing and artificial intelligence (AI), the initiative currently focuses on five organ systems — the brain, heart, kidneys, liver and lungs — studying conditions such as Alzheimer's disease, heart failure and chronic liver disease to better understand how they emerge and progress.

The work draws on expertise from across Mayo Clinic and is supported by Mayo Clinic Platform, which brings together large-scale patient data and advanced computing to enable scientists to study disease across populations.

"Precure is one example of a moonshot for human health at Mayo Clinic," says Dr. Lazaridis, who leads the initiative. "It reflects Mayo Clinic's commitment to move medicine beyond treatment and toward lasting wellness."

Precure is part of Mayo Clinic's Bold. Forward. strategy to Cure, Connect and Transform healthcare. The genomic screening study is an early demonstration of what that looks like in practice: science that doesn't wait for disease to announce itself, and a system already being built to act on what it finds.

For a complete list of authors, disclosures and funding information, review the study. 

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About Mayo Clinic
Mayo Clinic is a nonprofit organization committed to innovation in clinical practice, education and research, and providing compassion, expertise and answers to everyone who needs healing. Visit the Mayo Clinic News Network for additional Mayo Clinic news.

Media contact:

• Julie Ferris-Tillman, Ph.D., Mayo Clinic Communications, newsbureau@mayo.edu

The post Mayo Clinic study finds 1 in 8 adults carries hidden genetic risk — and reveals what it takes to act on it  appeared first on Mayo Clinic News Network.

ROCHESTER, Minn. — A Mayo Clinic-developed artificial intelligence (AI) model can help specialists detect pancreatic cancer on routine abdominal CT scans up to three years before clinical diagnosis. It identifies subtle signs of disease before tumors are visible, when curative treatment may still be possible. The findings, published in Gut, mark a milestone in Mayo Clinic's multiyear research effort to enable earlier detection of one of the deadliest cancers.

The study validates this next-generation AI model using data and workflows that mirror clinical practice, including CT scans from multiple institutions, imaging systems and protocols.

Researchers used the AI model to analyze nearly 2,000 CT scans, including scans from patients later diagnosed with pancreatic cancer — all originally interpreted as normal. The system, called the Radiomics-based Early Detection Model (REDMOD), identified 73% of those prediagnostic cancers at a median of about 16 months before diagnosis — nearly double the detection rate of specialists reviewing the same scans without AI assistance.

The advantage was even greater at earlier time points. In scans obtained more than two years before diagnosis, the AI identified nearly three times as many early cancers that would otherwise go undetected.

Pancreatic cancer remains one of the deadliest cancers because it rarely causes detectable signs in its earliest stages. More than 85% of patients receive a diagnosis after the disease has already spread, and five-year survival rates remain below 15%, according to the National Cancer Institute. Projections show it will become the second-leading cause of cancer-related death in the U.S. by 2030.

"The greatest barrier to saving lives from pancreatic cancer has been our inability to see the disease when it is still curable," says Ajit Goenka, M.D., the study's senior author, and a Mayo Clinic radiologist and nuclear medicine specialist. "This AI can now identify the signature of cancer from a normal-appearing pancreas, and it can do so reliably over time and across diverse clinical settings." 

REDMOD measures hundreds of quantitative imaging features that describe tissue texture and structure, capturing faint biological changes as cancer begins to develop. The model is designed to analyze CT scans already obtained for other reasons — particularly in high-risk patients, such as those with new-onset diabetes — and flag elevated risk before any visible mass appears. 

The model runs automatically without time-intensive manual preparation. The team validated the model across CT scans from multiple institutions, imaging systems and protocols, demonstrating consistent performance beyond a single dataset.

The model's predictions also remained stable over time. In patients with multiple scans, the AI produced consistent results months apart, supporting its use for longitudinal monitoring and early detection. 

"This AI can now identify the signature of cancer from a normal-appearing pancreas, and it can do so reliably over time and across diverse clinical settings."  - Dr. Ajit Goenka

Researchers are advancing this work into clinical testing through Artificial Intelligence for Pancreatic Cancer Early Detection, or AI-PACED. This prospective study evaluates how clinicians can integrate AI-guided detection into care for patients at elevated risk. The study combines AI analysis of routine imaging with longitudinal follow-up to assess performance, including early detection, false positives and clinical outcomes. 

This research is part of Mayo Clinic's Precure initiative, which aims to predict and prevent disease by identifying the earliest biological changes in the body before symptoms begin. It also reflects Mayo Clinic's Clinical Impact strategy, accelerating the translation of discovery into patient care. 

The study was supported by the National Institutes of Health, the Hoveida Family Foundation, the Mayo Clinic Comprehensive Cancer Center and the Champions for Hope Pancreas Cancer Research Program of the Funk-Zitiello Foundation. 

For a complete list of authors, disclosures and funding, review the study. 

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About Mayo Clinic  
Mayo Clinic is a nonprofit organization committed to innovation in clinical practice, education and research, and providing compassion, expertise and answers to everyone who needs healing. Visit the Mayo Clinic News Network for additional Mayo Clinic news.  

About Mayo Clinic Comprehensive Cancer Center  
Designated as a comprehensive cancer center by the National Cancer Institute, Mayo Clinic Comprehensive Cancer Center is defining the cancer center of the future, focused on delivering the world's most exceptional patient-centered cancer care for everyone. At Mayo Clinic Comprehensive Cancer Center, a culture of innovation and collaboration is driving research breakthroughs in cancer detection, prevention and treatment to change lives. 

Media contact:   

• Julie Ferris-Tillman, Ph.D., Mayo Clinic Communications, newsbureau@mayo.edu  

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Momentum is growing in the fight against amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and frontotemporal dementia (FTD), two devastating neurological diseases now understood to be closely connected. At Mayo Clinic, researchers and clinicians are turning scientific breakthroughs into progress for patients and their families.

Watch: Dr. Bjorn Oskarsson explains work of ALS researchers

Journalists: Broadcast-quality soundbites are available for download at the end of this post. Please courtesy: "Mayo Clinic."

ALS, also known as motor neuron disease and Lou Gehrig's disease, affects nerves, leading to progressive weakness and loss of movement. FTD is a group of brain disorders that affect behavior, personality and language. Although these related conditions usually occur separately, they can occur together and pose significant challenges for patients and families.

While effective treatments remain limited, new approaches are emerging. Patients can receive supportive care to improve quality of life and extend survival, and recent advances include therapies for some genetic forms of ALS. These developments are making diagnostic testing increasingly important to identify potentially treatable causes.

Tools to diagnose ALS

Diagnosis of ALS typically includes a physical exam, medical history and electromyography (EMG), a specialized test of muscles and nerves that detects lower motor neuron degeneration. Mayo Clinic physicians are also using newer tools to improve detection.

"We now have an added blood test, neurofilament light, which is good at detecting ALS," says Bjorn Oskarsson, M.D., a neurologist and director of the ALS Clinic at Mayo Clinic in Florida. "The test measures a nerve protein that leaks into the blood and is significantly elevated in patients with this disease. Another test uses advanced imaging to detect a marker of upper motor neuron degeneration, allowing earlier diagnosis in some patients."

With ultra-high-resolution 7-Tesla MRI imaging, physicians and scientists can identify upper motor neuron degeneration in many people with ALS and help distinguish the disease from similar conditions. These tools, combined with genetic testing, help clinicians make more accurate diagnoses.

Research

Artificial intelligence shows promise in helping patients achieve greater independence. As ALS progresses, patients may lose the ability to speak. Voice-cloning technology recreates a person's voice from a previous recording, helping them continue communicating with loved ones through speaking devices.

This progress builds on a pivotal scientific discovery: In 2011, Mayo Clinic researchers helped discover that ALS and FTD can share a common underlying genetic cause, the C9orf72 mutation. This finding showed that the two conditions are part of a disease spectrum and transformed both research and clinical care. Neurogeneticist Rosa Rademakers, Ph.D., who was on the Mayo Clinic faculty from 2005 to 2019, received the 2026 Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences for this discovery during her research at Mayo Clinic. She continues to collaborate with colleagues as a supplemental consultant in the Department of Neurosciences at Mayo Clinic.

Mayo Clinic researchers are developing new therapies that target the genetic and biological drivers of ALS and FTD. Clinical trials are underway that focus on treating the underlying disease mechanisms rather than symptoms alone.

Advances in genetic sequencing are providing new insights. Technologies that can read long stretches of DNA are allowing scientists to study the C9orf72 mutation in greater detail. Research led by Marka van Blitterswijk, M.D., Ph.D., a neuroscientist at Mayo Clinic in Florida, shows that variations in the length of this genetic repeat are linked to when symptoms begin, how quickly the disease progresses and the buildup of harmful proteins in the brain.

"It is a very exciting time to investigate ALS and FTD," says Dr. Van Blitterswijk. "New advances in genetic sequencing now enable us to look at the DNA and RNA at unprecedented resolution, creating tantalizing opportunities that will undoubtedly uncover novel causes, as well as much-needed biomarkers and therapeutic strategies for these debilitating diseases in the foreseeable future."

Researchers are also using advanced RNA analysis to better understand how genes function in diseased brain tissue. These findings could lead to earlier diagnosis and new treatments.

Additional research led by Wilfried Rossoll, Ph.D., a Mayo Clinic neuroscientist, is focused on proteins involved in disease progression. In ALS and FTD, a protein called TDP-43 forms clumps within brain cells. This pathology can disrupt essential functions, such as the cell's internal transport system, which can lead to cell damage or death. Mayo Clinic researchers have found that another protein, KPNB1, may help break apart these clumps and restore normal cell function.

Researchers are also working to identify additional genetic factors that influence ALS risk and progression. This work may improve understanding of neurodegenerative diseases and support the development of more precise clinical trials and targeted therapies.

A deeper understanding of ALS and FTD may lead to earlier intervention, more personalized care and improved outcomes for patients and families.

 Related:

• Mayo-clinic-researcher-awarded-breakthrough-prize-for-ALS-dementia-gene-discovery
• Florida dad receives first-in-world ALS treatment
• Mayo Clinic awarded federal grant to study experimental ALS drug
• Mayo researchers, collaborators affirm useful blood biomarker for group of brain disorders in new study

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JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Rosa Rademakers, Ph.D., a neurogeneticist whose work at Mayo Clinic led to a landmark finding in neurodegenerative disease, has been awarded the 2026 Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences for the discovery of the most common genetic cause of frontotemporal dementia (FTD) and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), which charted the path for new mechanistic studies of these diseases.

The Breakthrough Prize recognizes Dr. Rademakers' role in discovering the C9orf72 hexanucleotide repeat expansion, a genetic mutation that fundamentally reshaped understanding of FTD and ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig's disease, and is the most common inherited cause of both conditions.

Watch: Dr. Rosa Rademakers explains ALS-dementia gene research and discovery

Journalists: Broadcast-quality soundbites with Dr. Rosa Rademakers along with b-roll of research are available in the downloads at the end of the post. Please courtesy: "Mayo Clinic News Network.”

The discovery, published in 2011 alongside complementary work by a separate research team, led by Bryan Traynor, M.D., Ph.D., at the National Institute on Aging, National Institutes of Health, revealed for the first time that these two conditions — long studied as separate diseases — shared a common genetic origin.

FTD affects behavior, personality and language, while ALS causes progressive loss of muscle control. By establishing a genetic link between the two, the discovery transformed how scientists now study, diagnose and treat these conditions.

A mutation in the C9orf72 gene causes a segment of DNA to repeat excessively, disrupting normal cellular function and damaging nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord.

The discovery provided long-sought answers for families affected by inherited forms of ALS and FTD — enabling more accurate diagnosis, informing genetic counseling and accelerating global research efforts focused on targeted therapies.

"The Breakthrough Prize is a powerful affirmation that the work happening at Mayo Clinic is changing the trajectory of human health," says Vijay Shah, M.D., Kinney Executive Dean of Research at Mayo Clinic. "This global recognition underscores the importance of relentless curiosity, scientific rigor and a commitment to improving lives."

Today, genetic testing for the C9orf72 mutation is incorporated into the clinical evaluation for some patients and families, helping clinicians identify people at risk. At the same time, therapies now in clinical trials are designed to target the underlying biology uncovered by this discovery.

Dr. Rademakers made this discovery while leading a neurogenetics laboratory at Mayo Clinic in Florida. The work was made possible through access to the Mayo Clinic Brain Bank, which includes patient samples paired with detailed clinical and family histories; the Mayo Clinic Alzheimer's Disease Research Center; and additional patient samples collected across Mayo Clinic, including from individuals with FTD, ALS and other neurodegenerative conditions.

The research highlights Mayo Clinic's integrated model of care and discovery, bringing together clinicians and scientists to accelerate advances in understanding and treating complex neurological diseases. That collaborative approach continues to drive progress in genetic screening and translational research for ALS, FTD and related conditions today.

Dr. Rademakers served on the Mayo Clinic faculty from 2005 to 2019 and continues to collaborate with colleagues as a supplemental consultant in the Department of Neurosciences. She is currently the director of the VIB Center for Molecular Neurology at the University of Antwerp in Belgium.

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Related:

• Mayo Clinic Researcher Honored for ALS Genetic Discovery- Mayo Clinic News Network
• Mayo Clinic Receives $6 Million for ALS, FTD Research
• Neuroscience powerhouses at Mayo Clinic in Florida
• Florida Scientist to Receive International Award for Advances in Dementia Research

About Mayo Clinic
Mayo Clinic is a nonprofit organization committed to innovation in clinical practice, education and research, and providing compassion, expertise and answers to everyone who needs healing. Visit the Mayo Clinic News Network for additional Mayo Clinic news. 

Media contact:

• Tia Ford, Mayo Clinic Communications, newsbureau@mayo.edu

The post Mayo Clinic researcher awarded Breakthrough Prize for ALS-dementia gene discovery appeared first on Mayo Clinic News Network.

ROCHESTER, Minn. — Mayo Clinic researchers have developed a new method to identify which proteins are most likely to trigger an immune response — a discovery that could help improve transplant care, regenerative biotherapeutics and other areas of medicine where the immune system plays a critical role.

The results, published in Biomaterials, challenge a common assumption in the field that all proteins are equally likely to provoke immune reactions.

"Some proteins can trigger a very strong response even when only tiny amounts remain, while others are much less troublesome," says Leigh Griffiths, Ph.D., MRCVS, senior author of the study and a researcher at Mayo Clinic. "That gives us a much clearer roadmap for designing safer, more durable biomaterials."

The team's approach combines two factors: how much of each protein is present and how strongly it activates the immune system. By integrating these measurements, researchers can rank proteins from the most immunogenic to the least, revealing which ones matter most.

The researchers call this measurement the Ratio of Immunogenicity, or ROI. Applying it across hundreds of proteins revealed patterns that had not been clearly recognized before.

One of the most striking findings involved mitochondria — structures inside cells best known for producing energy. The study found that mitochondrial proteins were far more likely to evoke strong immune responses than proteins from other parts of the cell, accounting for more than a quarter of the most immunogenic proteins identified. Mitochondria likely evolved from ancient bacteria, and that evolutionary history may help explain why the immune system appears especially sensitive to them when they are exposed.

"We think the body has never fully accepted mitochondria as part of itself — they're normally hidden inside the cell, and when they're exposed, the immune system may still recognize them as foreign," says Dr. Griffiths.

The implications extend beyond tissue engineering. The researchers say the same strategy could help identify the most important immune targets in organ transplantation, infectious diseases and cancer biology. In transplantation, for example, ranking the most immunogenic proteins could eventually help scientists develop better biomarkers to detect rejection earlier or guide more targeted therapies.

The work also aligns with Mayo Clinic's Genesis strategic initiative by advancing the science needed to create next-generation regenerative medicine products. Dr. Griffiths' laboratory is already using these insights to refine engineered tissues intended for clinical use, with the goal of removing the proteins most likely to cause harmful immune reactions while preserving the structure needed for healing and integration.

"This study fills a critical gap in knowledge," Dr. Griffiths says. "If we want to build regenerative therapies and implants that are truly safe and effective, we need to understand not just that the immune system is reacting, but what exactly it is reacting to. That understanding is what will help move better products to patients."

For a complete list of authors, disclosures and funding, review the study. 

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About Mayo Clinic
Mayo Clinic is a nonprofit organization committed to innovation in clinical practice, education and research, and providing compassion, expertise and answers to everyone who needs healing. Visit the Mayo Clinic News Network for additional Mayo Clinic news. 

Media contact:

• Terri Malloy, Mayo Clinic Communications, newsbureau@mayo.edu

The post New Mayo Clinic technique identifies proteins that trigger immune responses in transplants, implants appeared first on Mayo Clinic News Network.

On a global stage in Berlin, surrounded by leading scientists and engineers in quantum computing, a Mayo Clinic team earned first place at the Berlin Quantum Hackathon 2026.

The five-week hackathon challenged six finalist teams to prove that quantum computing — one of science's newest and most complex frontiers — can solve meaningful problems beyond theory. More than 180 teams applied to compete. The awards were presented on March 5.

The Mayo team built a novel quantum-powered model capable of detecting movement intention directly from brain activity. 

Code, circuits and possibility

Inside the competition hall, conversations unfolded in the language of quantum science — qubits, circuits and optimization algorithms. Teams presented performance metrics to an expert judging panel that challenged assumptions and tested claims on the spot. Technical execution, scalability and real-world impact all factored into the score.

Among them stood a Mayo Clinic team that had begun studying quantum computing only a year earlier.

They approached the challenge the way Mayo Clinic approaches medicine: with the patient at the center and the science pushed to its limits.

Decoding the intent to move

The team's work began with a clinical question: What happens when the brain intends to move, but the body cannot?

In people living with paralysis or other motor impairments, the brain still sends the signal, carrying intention across neural networks even when the body cannot respond.

The team set out to detect that signal by distinguishing the intent to move a left hand from a right — a subtle difference buried within the brain's constant electrical rhythm.

They drew on electroencephalogram, or EEG, recordings, which capture the brain's electrical activity as continuous waves layered with motion and background noise.

To isolate that distinction, they built a hybrid system that combined advanced AI with emerging quantum tools. That required learning the language of quantum science.

"One of our secrets to success was focusing on the complete solution, not just the computational challenge," says Dr. Rickey Carter, professor of biostatistics at Mayo Clinic and the team leader. "We built around patients' needs and paid close attention to the edge cases where the model struggled. That's where we concentrated our quantum efforts."

If validated in future research, such signals could one day help guide assistive technologies or prosthetics, potentially enabling more precise control of movement.

At the leading edge of discovery 

For Dr. Charles Bruce, chief innovation officer at Mayo Clinic in Florida, the hackathon reflected a broader commitment: building bridges across disciplines and borders in a field that advances through shared expertise.

"Standing alongside leaders in this field strengthened our work and reminded us that advancement happens together," Dr. Bruce says. "We entered this challenge as underdogs. None of us had prior quantum computing experience. But progress is built collectively. You learn from one another, blending biology with data science, and the work becomes stronger because of it."

The multidisciplinary team from Mayo Clinic in Florida — Dr. Carter, Miko Wieczorek, Dr. Michele Dougherty, Dr. Feifei Li and Dr. Bruce — built the model from the ground up. Mayo Clinic's Quantum Sensing and Computing program supported the effort, exploring how emerging quantum technologies may intersect with patient care.

Miko Wieczorek, a data scientist in the Mayo Clinic Digital Innovation Lab, led the team's work running the model on a quantum computer — a first for Mayo.

"When our model executed successfully on a quantum computer, it felt like stepping into the next chapter of science," Wieczorek says. "In that moment, we realized we weren't just observing this field — we were helping shape it."

Dr. Michele Dougherty, a medical physicist in Radiation Oncology, contributed expertise in complex optimization.

"Quantum computing could eventually help us design safer and more precise radiation treatments," she says. "If it accelerates how we find the best possible plan for a patient, that's meaningful."

Dr. Feifei Li, a former theoretical physicist who is now a medical physicist in Radiation Oncology at Mayo Clinic, says the project highlights how quantum computing could expand the boundaries of medical research.

"Some scientific questions remain unsolved not because we lack data, but because of how difficult they are to model," Dr. Li says. "Quantum computing gives us a different way to approach that complexity."

Quantum computing moves toward application

The event was hosted by Berlin-based quantum software company Kipu Quantum and supported by the State of Berlin's Quantum Initiative and the Charité-Berlin University Medicine.

"Quantum computing is proving this year that we can design hybrid quantum-classical solutions for tackling industrial problems," says Enrique Solano, CEO of Kipu Quantum. "Medical imaging and life science will occupy a key role in the list of applications. By winning the hackathon, Mayo Clinic is making an important step toward this visionary goal."

Shaping the frontier 

For the Mayo Clinic team, the Berlin hackathon reaffirmed that real progress begins with curiosity, collaboration and the courage to explore uncharted territory. Together, they showed how multidisciplinary teams can carry some of healthcare's most pressing challenges toward its next frontier.

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ROCHESTER, Minn. — Alzheimer's-related brain changes progressed up to 20 times faster in women who also had abnormal levels of a Parkinson's-related protein, according to a Mayo Clinic study published in JAMA Network Open. The same pattern was not observed in men.

The findings suggest that when alpha-synuclein — a protein linked to Parkinson's disease — accumulates alongside Alzheimer's pathology, it may drive faster disease progression in women. That interaction could help explain a long-standing disparity: women make up nearly two-thirds of people living with Alzheimer's disease in the U.S.

Kejal Kantarci, M.D., a Mayo Clinic neuroradiologist and senior author of the study, uses advanced brain imaging to track Alzheimer's progression.

"Recognizing these sex-specific differences could help us design more targeted clinical trials and ultimately more personalized treatment strategies," Dr. Kantarci says. "When we see disease-related changes unfolding at dramatically different rates, we cannot keep approaching Alzheimer's as though it behaves exactly the same way in everyone. Co-pathologies may impact the disease process."

Alzheimer's disease is marked by the buildup of tau protein in the brain. Many people along the Alzheimer's disease continuum also develop abnormal clumping of α-synuclein, a protein associated with Lewy body diseases such as Parkinson's disease and dementia with Lewy bodies.

Tau and α-synuclein occur naturally in the brain. In neurodegenerative diseases, however, these proteins can misfold and clump together, forming abnormal deposits. This pathological buildup disrupts communication between brain cells and contributes to cognitive decline.

Researchers set out to determine whether having both abnormal protein buildups alters how the disease progresses and whether that effect differs between women and men.

To investigate, the team analyzed data from 415 participants in the Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative, a national research consortium that tracks brain changes over time. Participants underwent cerebrospinal fluid testing to detect abnormal α-synuclein and repeated brain imaging to measure changes in tau accumulation. About 17% of participants showed evidence of abnormal α-synuclein.

Among participants with both Alzheimer's-related pathology and α-synuclein abnormalities, women accumulated tau dramatically faster than men with the same coexisting protein changes.

Elijah Mak, Ph.D., first author of the study and a Mayo Clinic neuroimaging researcher, studies how multiple brain pathologies interact and drive disease progression.

"This opens an entirely new direction for understanding why women bear a disproportionate burden of dementia," Dr. Mak says. "If we can unravel the mechanisms behind this vulnerability, we may uncover targets we haven't considered before."

The researchers are now examining whether these sex-specific effects also appear in patients with dementia with Lewy bodies, where α-synuclein is the primary disease driver rather than a coexisting pathology. The work will help determine whether the observed difference is unique to Alzheimer's disease or reflects a broader sex-specific vulnerability across neurodegenerative conditions.

For a complete list of authors, disclosures and funding, review the study.

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About Mayo Clinic
Mayo Clinic is a nonprofit organization committed to innovation in clinical practice, education and research, and providing compassion, expertise and answers to everyone who needs healing. Visit the Mayo Clinic News Network for additional Mayo Clinic news.

 Media contact:

• Tia Ford, Mayo Clinic Communications, newsbureau@mayo.edu

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