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.

ROCHESTER, Minn. — A new Mayo Clinic study shows that integrating telomere length evaluation and genetic testing into pulmonary care can significantly change how physicians diagnose and treat pulmonary fibrosis — in some cases even redirecting the course of care.

Telomeres are protective caps at the ends of chromosomes — the structures that carry a person's DNA. They naturally shorten as people age, but in some inherited conditions, they become unusually short. This shortening has been linked to certain forms of pulmonary fibrosis, a group of diseases that cause progressive scarring in the lungs and make breathing increasingly difficult.

In the study of 66 patients, nearly 1 in 5 had a disease-causing genetic variant, and results from testing changed clinical care in more than half of patients. The results were published in Mayo Clinic Proceedings.

"These diseases are often difficult to diagnose, and patients may be treated based on incomplete or unclear underlying causes," says Kathryn del Valle, M.D., a Mayo Clinic pulmonologist and lead author of the study.

To address this challenge, researchers paired genetic testing with telomere length measurement. Together, these tools helped uncover hidden drivers of disease and guide more precise management decisions.

"This work demonstrates a practical, scalable way to incorporate genetic and telomere assessment into clinical care for patients with fibrotic interstitial lung disease," says Eva Carmona, M.D., Ph.D., a Mayo Clinic pulmonologist and senior author.

The additional insights from testing led to meaningful changes in care, including the evaluation of comorbidities, medication adjustments, referrals to specialized clinics and earlier consideration of lung transplant. The information can also help clinicians avoid treatments and procedures that may be ineffective — or even harmful — in patients with certain genetic or telomere-related conditions.

"Genetic and telomere testing may help elucidate why disease is occurring, guide management decisions and identify family members who may be at risk," Dr. Carmona says.

Beyond individual patients, the findings have important implications for families. Identifying a genetic cause can help flag relatives who may be at risk, allowing them to pursue earlier screening, genetic counseling and testing.

Mayo Clinic plans to expand this model and launch a Familial Pulmonary Fibrosis Clinic to further coordinate genetic testing, counseling and comprehensive care for patients and at-risk relatives.

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 to 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 Genetic testing changes care for pulmonary fibrosis patients 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.

Dr. Adam Jacob has spent his career keeping patients safe in the operating room. As a Mayo Clinic anesthesiologist, he closely monitors every heartbeat and breath, adjusting anesthesia and responding to subtle changes in the body during surgery.

Watch: Mayo Clinic uses DNA screening to prevent life-threatening reactions during anesthesia

Journalists: Broadcast-quality video (3:31) is in the downloads at the end of this post. Please courtesy: "Mayo Clinic News Network." Read the script.

But one risk does not appear on monitors or in a patient's medical history: malignant hyperthermia. The rare, inherited condition can be triggered by certain anesthesia drugs, causing rapid muscle breakdown and a dangerous rise in body temperature.

Without prompt treatment, it can be fatal. Anesthesia teams are trained to recognize malignant hyperthermia, and a lifesaving antidote is kept in every location where anesthesia is administered. 

The risk is written into a person's DNA. 

An unexpected discovery

Until recently, Dr. Jacob did not know he carried that genetic risk. Like many people with malignant hyperthermia susceptibility, he had undergone anesthesia before without incident — the reaction is only triggered by certain drugs. 

"I had no symptoms, no family history and no reason to suspect anything," Dr. Jacob says. "If I hadn't been part of a research study, my first sign could have been an emergency in the operating room." 

An estimated 1 in 2,000 to 3,000 people carry genetic susceptibility to malignant hyperthermia, most without knowing it. Actual reactions are less common and can be prevented when the risk is identified in advance. 

More than a decade ago, Dr. Jacob donated his DNA as part of a Mayo Clinic research study, with no expectation the data would ever circle back to him personally. 

Recent advances in genomics changed that. Through a new study, Dr. Jacob received a letter from Mayo Clinic, followed by a call with a genetic counselor. He learned he carries a variant in RYR1, the gene most commonly linked to malignant hyperthermia. 

Because the condition is hereditary, Dr. Jacob had his two teenage sons tested. Both carry the same variant. Their medical records were updated to guide future anesthesia care, and they now wear medical ID bracelets. 

Dr. Jacob's wife, Kelly Jacob, is a nurse anesthetist, underscoring that even families deeply familiar with anesthesia care can carry this risk without knowing it. 

Dr. Jacob's experience also shows how identifying risks in one person can help protect an entire family. 

Identifying risk before the operating room 

The effort to understand the prevalence of malignant hyperthermia susceptibility is led by Dr. Timothy Curry, a Mayo Clinic anesthesiologist and physician-scientist, and one of Dr. Jacob's longtime colleagues. 

Dr. Curry studies genetic risk at scale through Mayo Clinic's Research Data Atlas, a research platform that connects genomic data with clinical records across the institution. In an analysis of nearly 150,000 individuals, he identified 134 people with variants linked to malignant hyperthermia susceptibility, most of whom were previously unaware 

"Traditionally, malignant hyperthermia declares itself in the operating room. By starting with genetics, we're able to find the risk long before that moment, and that opens the door to prevention rather than reaction."  - Dr. Timothy Curry

The two physicians trained together early in their careers. When Dr. Curry realized that Dr. Jacob was among those identified, the work became personal, he says. 

Dr. Curry's goal is to identify people with previously unrecognized malignant hyperthermia risk before they ever need anesthesia. That early knowledge matters because anesthesia drugs linked to malignant hyperthermia remain essential in emergencies, including trauma cases or when clinicians must quickly secure a patient's airway. 

"Traditionally, malignant hyperthermia declares itself in the operating room," Dr. Curry says. "By starting with genetics, we're able to find the risk long before that moment, and that opens the door to prevention rather than reaction." 

In parallel, Dr. Curry and his team are reviewing medical records for the people identified to see whether any experienced anesthesia reactions before the risk was known. 

Turning genetic findings into clinical guidance 

Identifying genetic risk is only the first step. Making sure it informs care requires ongoing education for providers, patients and families. 

That work involves Dr. Filippo Pinto e Vairo, medical director of Mayo Clinic's Program for Rare and Undiagnosed Diseases, along with a team of genetic counselors. When a potential genetic risk is identified, this team works with patients and families to confirm the finding and explain what it means for their care. The result is then integrated into the medical record so anesthesia teams can plan future care and avoid triggering drugs. 

"This is an extraordinary time in genomics. At Mayo Clinic, we're increasingly integrating genomics into clinical care at scale, and it's changing what's possible across healthcare." - Dr. Pinto e Vairo

That same approach extends beyond malignant hyperthermia. Dr. Pinto e Vairo and the team apply it to a growing range of genetic findings that can meaningfully change care. 

"This is an extraordinary time in genomics," Dr. Pinto e Vairo says. "At Mayo Clinic, we're increasingly integrating genomics into clinical care at scale, and it's changing what's possible across healthcare." 

In addition to malignant hyperthermia, Mayo Clinic researchers are returning genetic results linked to hereditary cancers, heart disease, metabolic diseases and other risks where early knowledge can guide care. 

From reaction to prevention

Genetic testing for malignant hyperthermia risk is now incorporated into Mayo Clinic's preoperative care pathways, shifting anesthesia care from reaction to prevention. 

For Dr. Jacob and his family, that shift transformed a hidden, life-threatening risk into one that can be anticipated, planned for and prevented. 

"This knowledge gives us peace of mind, and a way forward," Dr. Jacob says.

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Precision medicine is rapidly transforming modern healthcare. It's a personalized approach that tailors prevention and treatment to each individual — moving beyond the traditional one-size-fits-all model.

Colorectal cancer is one area where precision medicine is reshaping the standard of care for patients like Eric Minnesota. 

At 56, Eric was training for an Ironman triathlon when he got a devastating diagnosis — stage 3 colorectal cancer. 

Eric is sharing his inspiring story to raise awareness for National Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month.

Watch: Transforming colon cancer care through precision medicine

Journalists: Broadcast-quality video (3:10) is in the downloads at the end of this post. Please courtesy: "Mayo Clinic" – Read the script.

Man on a mission

Eric has been an athlete his whole life. He's a soft-spoken man with a gentle demeanor and a never-give-up attitude that defines everything he does. "I've competitively raced mountain bikes for the last 20 years," says Eric. "I'm an outdoors person...hiking, fishing, camping, anything outdoors is what I really enjoy."

Eric's dream has long been to compete in an Ironman triathlon, one of the toughest endurance events in the world. Competitors must complete a 2.4-mile swim, a 112-mile bike ride, and a 26.2-mile run. That's 140.6 miles in one day.

"From a health point of view, I thought I was nearly at the top of my game based on my age," says the Arizona man. "I've been healthy my whole life — no surgeries, no broken bones...I've never taken a sick day from work in my 25-year career."

Toughest challenge yet

Eric was in the midst of training for Ironman Arizona. All was going as planned. Then one day, Eric began having stomach pain. He went to his doctor who delivered a diagnosis Eric never expected.

"He discovered a significant mass. He relayed to me that I should see a colorectal surgeon as soon as possible to have it evaluated and find out what the next steps should be," recalls Eric. Soon after, Eric got his official diagnosis — stage 3 colorectal cancer.

"The plan was to remove my colon and replace it with an ostomy," says Eric. An ostomy is a surgically created opening in the abdomen that allows waste to exit the body into a bag. It may be needed after colon surgery so the body can eliminate waste.

In preparation for surgery, Eric and his wife, Paula, turned to Mayo Clinic in Arizona. "The doctor at Mayo said a team of specialists would convene as a group to review my case. Mayo was quicker than I ever imagined. The following week they called me to discuss my treatment plan," says Eric.

Hope through innovation

Mayo Clinic's treatment plan included more than surgery as an option. The team explained that by using precision medicine, they were able to determine Eric was a candidate for a nonsurgical approach to treatment called immunotherapy.

"By performing genomic sequencing on the patient's blood and the tumor, we were able to identify a precision treatment approach, including immune therapies, that can sometimes allow a patient to avoid the need for complex and life-altering surgeries," says Dr. Jewel Samadder, a gastroenterologist and cancer geneticist with Mayo Clinic's Early Onset and Hereditary Gastrointestinal Cancers Program.

Immunotherapy works by using the body's own immune system to fight the cancer. The nonsurgical treatment is delivered in a series of treatments by IV infusion. "The treatment is surprisingly easy. To be truthful I feel guilty based on the type of treatment that I had for my cancer versus what other individuals go through. It's just a simple infusion that takes less than an hour start to finish," explains Eric.

Crossing the finish line

Eric crossed the finish line of his immunotherapy treatment in six months. The results were a success. A colonoscopy following treatment showed the cancer was gone. "I won the lottery," says Eric. "The stars aligned with my markers and the care team had the expertise. It was incredible. It was all a perfect fit."

"This is a perfect example of why patients come to Mayo Clinic and see multiple physicians in our multidisciplinary cancer clinics and our early-onset program so that we can understand the cause of their cancer, determine the best treatment approaches, including clinical trials, and sometimes avoid complicated life-altering surgeries when possible, as in this patient's case," says Dr. Samadder.

"As soon as we heard about immunotherapy, we had to try it. This aligned with his goals. I'm just over the moon," says Paula.

Eric was able to keep working and training throughout his treatment. He says his only side effect was mild fatigue. "We spent a lot of time together as a family. Just being able to maintain that quality of life through the treatment was irreplaceable. You just can't put a price on that," says Eric.

"We are so grateful to everyone at Mayo Clinic, especially our oncologist Dr. Christina Wu," says Paula. "I would be lost without her. Thanks to Dr. Wu, I have my husband here with me today."

Celebrating life and love

Eric is back to working on his dream of one day becoming an Ironman triathlete. "Giving up is never an option," says Eric. "You have to turn on the switch, and keep going."

As Eric and Paula celebrate life, they are also celebrating their love. "We just had our 32nd wedding anniversary. These moments, these struggles together, it all has just made us stronger." says Eric. "I'm grateful for Mayo, for everything. I came out a better person."

Related stories:

• Eric and Paula Minnesota with a special message to Mayo Clinic
• Mayo Clinic Minute: Inside a colonoscopy
• Mayo Clinic Minute: Warning signs of colorectal cancer in younger adults

The post Transforming colon cancer care through precision medicine (VIDEO) appeared first on Mayo Clinic News Network.

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

The post Mayo Clinic researchers link Parkinson’s-related protein to faster Alzheimer’s progression in women  appeared first on Mayo Clinic News Network.

Evenings in the Staal household often carried a delicate unpredictability. After a full school day — and as Ethan's medication began to wear off — the shift from playful to overwhelmed could happen in seconds. Ethan has attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), a condition that can make emotional regulation especially challenging.  

Ethan's feelings sometimes escalated faster than he could manage. In those difficult moments, his parents say, he became "not accessible" — often needing close to an hour before they could help guide him back to calm. 

Their search for specialized care led them to Mayo Clinic, where child and adolescent psychiatrist Magdalena Romanowicz, M.D., introduced the family to Parent-Child Interaction Therapy. She also invited them to participate in a first-of-its-kind study powered by a smartwatch and artificial intelligence (AI). 

The smartwatch technology was designed to help anticipate when a child was nearing emotional overload, giving parents a chance to step in and defuse the situation before it escalated. For the Staals, the technology offered a clear sense of what was happening inside Ethan just early enough to help him through it. 

"It was a game-changer," Jared Staal says. "We still have challenges, but now we see them coming and we see them through a whole different lens — we didn't always know how to support him in those moments, and now we do." 

A window into the moments before escalation

During the four-month study, Ethan wore a smartwatch that tracked his heart rate, movement and sleep. When the system detected patterns that suggested his stress was building, it sent an alert to Sarah or Jared's phone. 

"It gave us a warning that something was coming," Sarah says. Instead of reacting at the peak of Ethan's distress, they could intervene earlier with calm reassurance, redirection and other techniques they learned in their 12 Parent-Child Interaction Therapy sessions. 

"We could help him recover in 5 to 10 minutes," she says. "And we could have our evenings again as a family." 

What the study revealed 

The Staals' experience reflects the study's overall findings. In the clinical trial, smartwatch alerts prompted parents to respond within four seconds on average to early signs of escalating stress. Their children's severe tantrums were shortened by about 11 minutes — roughly half the duration seen with standard therapy alone. 

The broader context underscores the need for new approaches. Nearly 1 in 5 U.S. children lives with a mental, behavioral or emotional health disorder, yet the number of pediatric mental health specialists has not kept pace with demand. Smartwatch technology represents one possible way to extend support into the home by helping families recognize early changes in a child's stress levels. 

Across a shared wall 

The technology behind the alerts emerged from an unexpected spark. 

Electrical and computer engineer Arjun Athreya, Ph.D., worked just steps from the Children's Hospital Psychiatry Unit at Mayo Clinic — a single shared wall separating his world of algorithms and data from the clinical rooms where children and their families experienced some of their hardest moments.  

Passing conversations with the psychiatrists next door became more formal collaborations as the team began to ask: What happens inside a child's body in the minutes before an outburst? And could those invisible shifts be measured? 

With support from Julia Shekunov, M.D., Medical Director of the inpatient unit, and help from the nursing staff, the team launched a small pilot to explore those questions. 
 
From that work, Dr. Athreya and his team developed an AI model designed to recognize the earliest physiological changes that precede escalating behavior. That work became the foundation for the smartwatch system now being explored with families. 

A family's early role in the research 

One of the first families to try out the smartwatch system was Sawra and Matthew Maurer and their son, Theo.  

For the Maurers, the challenges with Theo were mounting. Calls from kindergarten had become a near-weekly routine: "Theo is having a hard time. Could you come get him?" Around that same time, Theo was diagnosed with ADHD, which helped explain the emotional dysregulation and sudden behavioral shifts they were seeing.  

Theo could slide from being engaged in an activity to overwhelmed in an instant — sweeping crayons off tables or having severe tantrums that sometimes required teachers to guide classmates out of the room. "It was a very difficult year," Sawra recalls. 

Enrolling in the early smartwatch feasibility study gave her new insight.  

During the study, Theo wore a watch each day that collected his physiological data — heart rate, movement, sleep patterns — while the family logged episodes in an AI-powered app. 

That data helped researchers understand what Theo's body was doing in the moments before he became dysregulated. By matching those physiological signals with what was happening behaviorally, the team could begin identifying the subtle shifts that happen as a child moves from calm toward distress and then back to calm. 

Theo's data helped teach the system what those early changes look like in real-world settings. 

Sawra didn't receive alerts in that early phase, but she could see the information the watch recorded. "The idea is wonderful," she says. "Being able to detect when a child is heading toward a severe tantrum would be a phenomenal thing for a parent." 

Moving the research forward

Future studies will focus on improving the model, testing the system in larger groups and examining how real-time physiological data can inform care outside the clinic. As that work continues, the experiences of families like the Staals and the Maurers will help guide how the technology evolves and how it can support children in everyday life. 

Related article

Mayo Clinic smartwatch system helps parents shorten, defuse children’s severe tantrums early

Mayo Clinic researchers have developed a smartwatch-based alert system that signals parents at the earliest signs of a tantrum in children with emotional and behavioral disorders — prompting them to intervene before it intensifies. Read more.

The post Families at Mayo Clinic explore how a smartwatch can give early warnings of severe tantrums  appeared first on Mayo Clinic News Network.

These discoveries reflect progress across three major innovation efforts at Mayo Clinic. Mayo Clinic clinicians and scientists are working together to develop tools to predict and intercept biological processes before they evolve into disease or progress into complex, hard-to-treat conditions through the Precure initiative. They are advancing new cures for end-organ failure beyond traditional transplantation as part of the Genesis initiative. They are also uniting clinical insight with cutting-edge engineering to deliver novel neurological diagnostics and therapies through the Bioelectronics Neuromodulation Innovation to Cure (BIONIC) initiative. 
 

1. 'Virtual clinical trials' may predict success of heart failure drugs 

Mayo Clinic researchers have created "virtual clinical trials" that advance the discovery of therapies while reducing time, cost and the risk of failed studies by combining advanced computer modeling with real-world patient data as part of the Precure and Genesis initiatives. Through one virtual clinical trial, they have developed a new way to predict whether existing drugs could be repurposed to treat heart failure, one of the world's most pressing health challenges. 

"Clinical trials will always remain essential," says Cui Tao, Ph.D., the Nancy Peretsman and Robert Scully Chair of Artificial Intelligence and Informatics and vice president of Mayo Clinic Platform Informatics. "But this innovation demonstrates how AI can make research more efficient, affordable and broadly accessible. Integrating trial emulation, simulation, synthetic trials and biomedical knowledge modeling opens the door to a new paradigm in translational science." 

2. New discovery may unlock regenerative therapies for lung disease

Mayo Clinic researchers have uncovered the molecular "switch" that directs a small but powerful set of cells that choose whether to repair tissue or fight infection, a discovery that could inform regenerative therapies for chronic lung diseases, which is part of Mayo Clinic's Genesis initiative.
 
"We were surprised to find that these specialized cells cannot do both jobs at once," says Douglas Brownfield, Ph.D., senior author of the study. "Some commit to rebuilding, while others focus on defense. That division of labor is essential — and by uncovering the switch that controls it, we can start thinking about how to restore balance when it breaks down in disease." 

3. Stem cells may offer new hope for end-stage kidney disease treatment

Mayo Clinic researchers found that injecting patients' own stem cells from fat cells into the vein before hemodialysis, a treatment for end-stage kidney disease, often helped prevent inflammation and vein narrowing. This could help millions of people tolerate dialysis longer, extending the time before they require a kidney transplant as part of the Mayo Clinic Genesis initiative. 

"This approach has the potential to improve outcomes for millions of patients with kidney failure, reduce healthcare costs and inform new clinical guidelines for dialysis access management if validated in larger clinical trials," says Sanjay Misra, M.D., a Mayo Clinic interventional radiologist. 

4. Mayo Clinic physicians map patients' brain waves to personalize epilepsy treatment

Using detailed maps of each patient's unique brain wave patterns, Mayo Clinic physicians can now pinpoint where stimulation is most effective, moving beyond the traditional one-size-fits-all approach to epilepsy treatment. This research is part of the BIONIC initiative.

"The long-term goal is to quiet the seizure network, so it is eventually forgotten. Reorganizing the neuronal network could move us beyond controlling seizures to actually curing epilepsy," says Nick Gregg, M.D., a Mayo Clinic neurologist. 

5. New genetic biomarker flags aggressive brain tumors

Mayo Clinic researchers found when meningiomas — the most common type of brain tumor — show activity in a gene called telomerase reverse transcriptase (TERT), it tends to recur more quickly, even if it looks low grade under the microscope. This is part of the Mayo Clinic Precure initiative. 

"High TERT expression is strongly linked to faster disease progression," says Gelareh Zadeh, M.D., Ph.D., a neurosurgeon at Mayo Clinic and senior author of the study. "This makes it a promising new biomarker for identifying patients who may be at greater risk of developing aggressive disease."

6. Mayo Clinic researchers discover the immune system's 'fountain of youth'

Mayo Clinic researchers have found that some older people maintain "immune youth" – a new term coined by Mayo researchers to explain a young immune system in someone over age 60.  
 
"We observed that these patients have very young immune systems despite being in their 60s and 70s. But the price they pay for that is autoimmunity," says Cornelia Weyand, M.D., Ph.D., a Mayo Clinic rheumatologist and clinician-scientist. This is part of the Mayo Clinic Precure initiative.

7. Mayo Clinic tools predict, identify and diagnose Alzheimer's, dementia quicker

Mayo Clinic researchers have developed new tools to estimate a person's risk of developing Alzheimer's disease years before symptoms appear as part of the Precure initiative and to help clinicians identify brain activity patterns linked to nine types of dementia, including Alzheimer's disease, using one scan. They also confirmed the accuracy of an FDA-approved blood test that can be used at outpatient memory clinics to diagnose the disease in patients with a range of cognitive impairment. 

"Every patient who walks into my clinic carries a unique story shaped by the brain's complexity," says David T. Jones, M.D., a Mayo Clinic neurologist. "That complexity drew me to neurology and continues to drive my commitment to clearer answers."

8. Mayo Clinic research improves dense breast cancer screening and early detection

Nearly half of all women in the U.S. have dense breast tissue, which can make detecting breast cancer difficult with a mammogram. Mayo Clinic researchers found that adding another test, called molecular breast imaging, or MBI, to a 3D mammogram, improved the ability to find cancer in dense tissue by more than double. 
 
"Our research focuses on detecting the most lethal cancers, which can include invasive tumors that grow quickly. If these are detected earlier, we likely can save more lives," says Carrie Hruska, Ph.D., a Mayo Clinic professor of medical physics and lead author of the study. 

9. Mayo Clinic researchers find 'sugar coating' cells can protect those typically destroyed in type 1 diabetes

After identifying a sugar molecule that cancer cells use on their surfaces to hide from the immune system, Mayo Clinic researchers have found the same molecule may eventually help in the treatment of type 1 diabetes, once known as juvenile diabetes. 

"A goal would be to provide transplantable cells without the need for immunosuppression," says Virginia Shapiro, Ph.D., a Mayo Clinic immunology researcher. "Though we're still in the early stages, this study may be one step toward improving care."

10. New study calculates autoimmune disease prevalence

Mayo Clinic researchers and collaborators have described — for the first time — the prevalence of autoimmune diseases in the U.S. Their research reports that about 15 million people are estimated to have one or more of 105 autoimmune diseases. The study also found that autoimmune diseases occur most often in women, and it identified the top autoimmune diseases by prevalence, sex and age. 
 
"Knowing the number of patients with an autoimmune disease in the U.S. is critical to assess whether these diseases are increasing or decreasing over time and with treatment," says DeLisa Fairweather, Ph.D., vice-chair of translational research for the Department of Cardiovascular Medicine at Mayo Clinic in Florida and corresponding author of 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 A Year of Discovery: 10 Mayo Clinic research breakthroughs moving medicine forward  appeared first on Mayo Clinic News Network.

ROCHESTER, Minn. — Mayo Clinic researchers have developed a smartwatch-based alert system that signals parents at the earliest signs of a tantrum in children with emotional and behavioral disorders — prompting them to intervene before it intensifies.  

In a new study published in JAMA Network Open, these alerts helped parents intervene within four seconds and shortened severe tantrums by an average of 11 minutes — about half the duration seen with standard therapy.  

In this system, a smartwatch worn by the child detects physiological stress signals, such as rising heart rate, or changes in movement or sleep, and sends them to an artificial intelligence (AI)-enabled app on the parent's smartphone. The app analyzes the data in real time and sends an alert as a cue for the parent to connect with their child. 

The findings demonstrate how smartwatch technology can help bridge a gap in pediatric mental healthcare by giving parents actionable support when professional help isn't immediately available. That need is widespread — nearly 1 in 5 U.S. children has a mental, behavioral or emotional health disorder, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.  

The approach shows how wearable technology, paired with patient-centric AI design, can support families beyond the clinic. 

Study design and results 

In the randomized clinical trial, 50 children aged 3 to 7 receiving Parent-Child Interaction Therapy at Mayo Clinic participated over 16 weeks. Half were assigned to use the smartwatch system, and half continued standard therapy. The study evaluated whether families would use the technology as intended and whether immediate alerts could measurably change parent response times and children's behavior. 

Notably, children wore the smartwatch for about 75% of the study period, demonstrating feasibility and family engagement. 

"This study shows that even small, well-timed interventions can change the trajectory of a child's emotional dysregulation episode," says Magdalena Romanowicz, M.D., a Mayo Clinic child psychiatrist who co-led the study. "These moments give parents a chance to step in with supportive actions — moving closer, offering reassurance, labeling emotions and redirecting attention before a tantrum intensifies." 

Building on earlier research 

This work builds on the team's earlier study, which used a machine learning algorithm to analyze smartwatch data — including heart rate, sleep and movement — to predict disruptive behaviors in hospitalized children receiving psychiatric care. 

That study, published in the Journal of Child and Adolescent Psychopharmacology, showed the algorithm could predict a child's behavioral state with 81% accuracy and provided a 30- to 60-minute advance warning of an impending outburst. 

"This work shows how basic science and clinical research can come together to transform patient care," says Arjun Athreya, Ph.D., who co-led the study and serves on the engineering faculty in Mayo Clinic's Department of Molecular Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics. "We've translated inpatient findings to outpatient care, and the results show how data from everyday smart devices can help families in real time." 

Empowering families with data-driven care 

Paul Croarkin, D.O., a Mayo Clinic child and adolescent psychiatrist and study co-author, says the findings highlight the power of data-driven care. "A smartwatch may seem simple, but when it's backed by evidence-based treatments and advanced analytics, it becomes a lifeline for families trying to manage severe behavioral symptoms at home."  

Julia Shekunov, M.D., medical director of Mayo Clinic's Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Inpatient Unit and also a study co-author, says the work addresses an urgent need. "We're seeing more children in crisis, and the severity is increasing. This system gives parents tools they can use immediately, even outside the clinic, to help their child regain control." 

Next steps 

Future studies will refine the system's predictive accuracy, test it in larger groups and assess its long-term benefits in routine outpatient care. 

This study was funded in part by a Mayo Clinic Clinical Trial Stimulus Fund and Mayo Clinic's Center for Individualized Medicine. 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 Mayo Clinic smartwatch system helps parents shorten and defuse children’s severe tantrums early  appeared first on Mayo Clinic News Network.