August 16, 2025 5:08 PM
Study explains why loss of smell is linked to Alzheimer’s disease
The brain’s immune cells may explain why a fading sense of smell is an early indicator of Alzheimer’s disease, even before cognitive impairments appear, according to a new study. Researchers at DZNE and Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München (LMU) in Germany found that the brain's immune response seems to fatally attack neuronal fibres critical for the perception of odours. These olfactory dysfunctions arise because immune cells in the brain, called microglia, remove connections between ...