---
title: Researchers Can Now Tell Which Neurons Are Dying From a Blood Sample
description: A peer-reviewed study traces DNA from dying neurons in blood back to the cell type it came from. It is early research, not a test you can get yet.
author: Darie Nani (Editor-in-Chief)
date: 2026-08-09T08:00:00.000Z
updated: 2026-08-09T08:29:02.938Z
canonical: https://richhealthmagazine.com/article/blood-test-which-neurons-dying-cfdna
image: https://cdn.nanimediahouse.com/neuron-cfdna-blood-signature-118884.webp
categories: Longevity & Science
content_type: News
region: United States
publication: Rich Health Magazine
access: members
schema_type: Article
---

A blood draw can say which population of brain cells is dying, not just that damage is happening somewhere. Researchers at Brigham Young University and the Utah company Renew Biotechnologies report in Frontiers in Neurology that DNA fragments shed by dying neurons carry a chemical signature specific enough to point to the type of neuron they came from. In blood from people with Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and ALS, that signature lined up with the cell populations each disease is already known to attack.

By the authors' own account it is a proof of concept, drawn from small patient groups and needing to be repeated in larger, independent studies before anyone can rely on it.

## Today's Blood Tests Cannot Say Which Brain Cells Are Affected

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