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New MRI brain scan predicts Alzheimer's risk years before symptoms develop
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Levels of iron in the brain could be a warning sign of future Alzheimer’s disease, a new study suggests.
High levels of the chemical element have been shown to increase brain toxins and trigger neurodegeneration, resulting in cognitive decline — especially when they interact with the abnormal amyloid and tau proteins that are the hallmark pathologies of Alzheimer’s disease.
Researchers at Johns Hopkins University found that a special MRI technique called quantitative susceptibility mapping (QSM) can measure levels of brain iron.
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“QSM is an advanced MRI technique developed over the last decade to measure tissue magnetic susceptibility with good precision,” the study’s senior author, Xu Li, associate professor of radiology at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, said in a press release.
“QSM can detect small differences in iron levels across different brain regions, providing a reliable and non-invasive way to map and quantify iron in patients, which is not possible with conventional MR approaches.”
Levels of iron in the brain could be a warning sign of future Alzheimer’s disease, a new study suggests. (iStock)
Compared to traditional imaging options for Alzheimer’s diagnosis, including PET scans, QSM MRI is “non-invasive and much more affordable,” according to the researchers.
This measurement could help predict the likelihood of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and cognitive decline, even if the person has shown no symptoms.
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In the study, which was published in the journal Radiology, the researchers tested the MRI technique on 158 cognitively unimpaired participants from a previous research project.
After a follow-up period of 7½ years, the team concluded that higher iron levels in two key parts of the brain were linked to a higher risk of mild cognitive impairment, which is typically a precursor to the development of Alzheimer’s dementia.
“Brain iron changes may be measured years before memory loss, when the participants are still cognitively normal.”
“The key takeaway of our study is that higher brain iron levels, especially in some critical brain regions related to memory and learning (entorhinal cortex and putamen, as shown in our study), are linked to a two to four times higher risk of developing MCI and faster cognitive decline,” Li told Fox News Digital.
“And such brain iron changes may be measured years before memory loss, when the participants are still cognitively normal.
“Using QSM, we found higher brain iron in some memory-related regions that are linked to a higher risk of developing cognitive impairment and faster cognitive decline,” Li said. “This risk is even higher when the participants have higher levels of amyloid pathologies.”
High levels of the chemical element have been shown to increase brain toxins and trigger neurodegeneration. (iStock)
The study did have some limitations, Li noted, including the smaller group of participants.
“The study population is from a specialized cohort consisting of mainly White, highly educated participants with a strong family history of Alzheimer’s disease,” the researcher noted.
If larger, more diverse studies confirm these findings, it could support the use of this MRI technique for patients at a higher risk of dementia, the release stated.
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“I think we should be hopeful,” Li said. “We can use this kind of tool to help identify patients at higher risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease and potentially guide early interventions as new treatments become available. Also, besides serving as a biomarker, brain iron may become a future therapeutic target.”
The researchers also hope to make the QSM technology more standardized, faster and more widely accessible in clinical practice, he added.
While brain iron is associated with neurodegeneration and could lead to faster cognitive decline, it is also an important element for cognitive health, the researcher said. (iStock)
Li noted that while brain iron is associated with neurodegeneration and could lead to faster cognitive decline, it is also an important element for cognitive health and neurodevelopment at a young age.
“While iron chelation therapies (to remove iron) for Alzheimer’s are currently explored, their effect is still not very clear and much more research is needed,” he said.
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The study was supported by the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering, National Institute on Aging and the National Institutes of Health.
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Eliminating sugar from your diet may seem like the key to healthy eating, but research suggests it could have unintended effects on digestive health.
A study presented at ENDO 2026, the Endocrine Society’s annual meeting, suggests that a total lack of sucrose, or table sugar, may harm gut health and disrupt the body’s natural metabolism.
To explore how the total absence of dietary sugar impacts the body, researchers at the Dasman Diabetes Institute in Kuwait City conducted a 16-week study on two groups of mice. Both groups were placed on a low-fat diet, but with one critical difference.
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One group consumed a low-fat diet that included a standard amount of sucrose, while the other group ate a low-fat diet that was completely sugar-free, according to the study’s press release.
Throughout the trial, the scientists monitored a wide variety of physiological factors, including the animals’ weight, glucose tolerance, insulin sensitivity, hormone levels, internal inflammation and the specific composition of their gut bacteria.
A total lack of dietary sugar can cause imbalances in the gut bacteria and lead to signs of fatty liver disease, even without any weight gain, researchers said. (iStock)
The study outcome suggested that completely removing sugar caused several unexpected health problems.
“Completely removing sucrose from a low-fat diet may unexpectedly disrupt gut health and promote inflammation and metabolic dysfunction,” Rasheed Ahmad, principal scientist and head of the Immunology & Microbiology Department at the Dasman Diabetes Institute, said in the release.
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Even though the mice on the sugar-free diet did not gain any extra weight compared to the control group, their internal health indicators deteriorated.
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The animals that lacked sucrose developed an imbalance in their gut microbes and increased inflammation within the intestines and liver.
They also showed signs of poor glucose regulation, insulin resistance and cellular changes associated with fatty liver disease, according to the research.
Future dietary guidelines may shift away from strict, absolute sugar bans and instead focus on overall gut health through balanced nutrition. (iStock)
“The findings suggest that complete removal of sucrose from a low-fat diet may negatively affect gut microbiota and metabolic health,” Ahmad concluded.
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While the risks of high-sugar diets are well-established, the researchers noted that little attention has been given to the effects of completely eliminating sugar from low-fat meals.
Scientists say these new findings highlight that dietary carbohydrates play a valuable role in supporting balance between the immune system and the gut microbiome.
Completely cutting sucrose from a low-fat diet can unexpectedly trigger gut inflammation and disrupt the metabolism, experts say. (iStock)
Because this research was conducted on mice over a relatively short 16-week period, further clinical trials are necessary to determine whether a completely sugar-free diet causes the same gut and liver inflammation in humans.
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Additionally, the study focused specifically on removing sucrose from low-fat meals, meaning the results might not apply to people eliminating sugar while following higher-fat or ketogenic eating plans, the researchers noted.
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The team believes that future dietary guidelines may shift away from strict, absolute sugar restrictions and instead place a greater emphasis on maintaining a diverse, healthy population of gut bacteria through balanced nutrition.
“In the long term, these findings could help improve strategies for preventing and managing metabolic disorders, fatty liver disease and chronic inflammatory conditions,” Ahmad said.
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A cure for cancer could be on the horizon in the next decade, according to experts.
During the WSJ Leadership Institute CEO Summit in London last week, Johnson & Johnson Chairman and CEO Joaquin Duato reflected on the pharmaceutical company’s projections on the future of cancer treatment.
In the next 10 years, the goal is to “try to eliminate cancer,” Duato shared.
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“That’s a high goal, and we are already making significant progress in certain cancers,” he said.
Duato used multiple myeloma as an example, noting that the life expectancy is currently 10 years, when it was previously “only single years.”
Joaquin Duato, chairman and CEO of Johnson and Johnson, speaks at the Punchbowl News Conference at Union Station on March 10, 2026, in Washington, DC. (Heather Diehl/Getty Images)
“We have treatments now that utilize your own immune system to attack the cancer,” he said at the summit. “For patients who were already going into hospice, so they didn’t have any other alternative, they are [at] more than five years, with a single administration, in remission. That [is] spectacular.”
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“When patients see that, they cannot believe that because they have been coming to the hospital every week [for] a decade, having multiple therapies.”
The goal is to “try to eliminate cancer” in the next 10 years, the pharmaceutical executive said. (iStock)
According to Duato, Johnson & Johnson is working to understand the biology of cancer growth and to formulate new technologies to address it.
“It’s realistic to believe that we are going to cure certain cancers, and some others we’re going to turn into chronic diseases,” he predicted.
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“Cancer is an important thing – I cannot think about anybody who has not been touched by cancer,” he went on. “But there are many other opportunities for us to actually advance science, to address very important social problems.”
Duato called out dementia as another “important problem” in need of a solution.
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He predicted that life expectancy, which has risen steadily over the past century, will continue to increase as longevity technologies and solutions advance, improving quality of life along the way.
Duato commented that J&J has been optimistic about the role artificial intelligence will play in the future of healthcare, calling it a “force multiplier.”
Biomarkers and AI can help with the earlier diagnosis of cancer, as well as a more advanced and personalized approach to surgery, a doctor noted. (iStock)
Fox News senior medical analyst Dr. Marc Siegel agreed with Duato’s outlook on the future of cancer care, noting that certain cancers will turn into chronic diseases while others will find outright cures.
“Advances [will be] based on the use of AI to help guide targeted treatments with expanding knowledge of cancer mutations and how to target them,” he predicted, speaking to Fox News Digital.
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Siegel added that biomarkers and AI can help with earlier diagnoses, as well as a more advanced and personalized approach to surgery.
J&J recently acquired Firefly Bio, a biotech firm that produces drugs that enter cancer cells to “target certain proteins that contain difficult to treat gene mutations,” the doctor added.
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