Health News
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Health News
Study says loss of smell may help sniff out Alzheimer's disease
A small pilot study of patients displaying signs of cognitive decline found that peanut butter can help identify those with Alzheimer?s disease, which is often accompanied by a loss of smell.
The results indicate that loss in sense of smell may help in diagnosing Alzheimer's. Loss of smell can be detected long before classic clinical symptoms, and it may not only be an early warning sign of Alzheimer's, but it is also an indicator for Parkinson?s disease and some other neurological disorders, writes Richard Doty of the Smell and Taste Center at the University of Pennsylvania?s Perelman School of Medicine.
Alzheimer?s is an irreversible, progressive brain disease that slowly destroys memory and thinking skills, but early diagnosis is usually beneficial. It can tell people whether their symptoms are from Alzheimer?s or another cause, such as stroke, tumor, Parkinson?s or other conditions that may be treatable. In most people with Alzheimer?s, symptoms first appear after age 60, and estimates suggest that as many as 5.1 million Americans may have it, says the National Institute on Aging.
The study of 96 patients was conducted by the McKnight Brain Institute Center for Smell and Taste at the University of Florida. Eighteen of the patients had probable Alzheimer's, 24 had a mild cognitive impairment, 26 had some form of dementia, and the other 26 patients were used as a control group.
The researchers measured the distance from the nose at which patients, whose eyes were closed, could smell a tablespoon of peanut butter one nostril at a time. Early-stage Alzheimer's patients had different smell sensitivity between the right and left nostrils, with the left regularly being more severely impaired. The other patients displayed no such difference in smell sensitivity, says the study, published in the Journal of Neurological Sciences.
?This non-invasive and inexpensive left?right nostril odor detection test appears to be a sensitive and specific test for probable Alzheimer's disease,? graduate student Jennifer Stamp, one of the researchers, told Jef Akst of The Scientist magazine. More research is needed to validate the approach, she added: ?We plan to study patients with mild cognitive impairment to see if this test might be used to predict which patients are going to get Alzheimer?s disease.?
Click here to read Doty's ?Smell and the Degenerating Brain? for a deeper look at the link between smell and neurodegeneration. Click here for more information about Alzheimer's disease.
The results indicate that loss in sense of smell may help in diagnosing Alzheimer's. Loss of smell can be detected long before classic clinical symptoms, and it may not only be an early warning sign of Alzheimer's, but it is also an indicator for Parkinson?s disease and some other neurological disorders, writes Richard Doty of the Smell and Taste Center at the University of Pennsylvania?s Perelman School of Medicine.
Alzheimer?s is an irreversible, progressive brain disease that slowly destroys memory and thinking skills, but early diagnosis is usually beneficial. It can tell people whether their symptoms are from Alzheimer?s or another cause, such as stroke, tumor, Parkinson?s or other conditions that may be treatable. In most people with Alzheimer?s, symptoms first appear after age 60, and estimates suggest that as many as 5.1 million Americans may have it, says the National Institute on Aging.
The study of 96 patients was conducted by the McKnight Brain Institute Center for Smell and Taste at the University of Florida. Eighteen of the patients had probable Alzheimer's, 24 had a mild cognitive impairment, 26 had some form of dementia, and the other 26 patients were used as a control group.
The researchers measured the distance from the nose at which patients, whose eyes were closed, could smell a tablespoon of peanut butter one nostril at a time. Early-stage Alzheimer's patients had different smell sensitivity between the right and left nostrils, with the left regularly being more severely impaired. The other patients displayed no such difference in smell sensitivity, says the study, published in the Journal of Neurological Sciences.
?This non-invasive and inexpensive left?right nostril odor detection test appears to be a sensitive and specific test for probable Alzheimer's disease,? graduate student Jennifer Stamp, one of the researchers, told Jef Akst of The Scientist magazine. More research is needed to validate the approach, she added: ?We plan to study patients with mild cognitive impairment to see if this test might be used to predict which patients are going to get Alzheimer?s disease.?
Click here to read Doty's ?Smell and the Degenerating Brain? for a deeper look at the link between smell and neurodegeneration. Click here for more information about Alzheimer's disease.
- Survey Finds 1 In 7 Kentuckians Over 44 Say They Have Worsening Confusion Or Memory Loss; Few Say They Get Needed Help
Worsening memory loss reported by Kentuckians in a survey could be indicative of a future Alzheimer's or dementia public health crisis, according to a press release from the Alzheimer's Association. A first-time survey about memory loss shows...
- New Research Argues That Alzheimer's Disease Should Rank As Third Most Common Cause Of Death In The U.s.
Alzheimer's disease may contribute to almost as many deaths in the U.S. as heart disease or cancer, says a recent study published in Neurology. Alzheimer's is listed as the nation's sixth leading cause of death, far behind the leading...
- Uk Team Gets $1.5 Million Nih Grant To Continue Success With Cell-level Study Of Alzheimer's Disease Factor
University of Kentucky researchers have provided the first direct evidence that activated astrocytes could play a harmful role in Alzheimer's disease. A UK news release explains, "The astrocyte is a very abundant non-neuronal cell type that performs...
- National Effort To Combat Alzheimer's Disease Begins; As Research Continues, There Are Preventive Steps You Can Take
Country singer Glen Campbell, who has Alzheimer's disease, stands with wife Kim during a national conference Tuesday. Associated Press photo by Charles Dharapak.With numbers expected to jump to 16 million Americans by 2050, research is being conducted...
- New Scanning Technique May Lead The Way To Alzheimer Treatment
by Robin K. Wilson, M.D., Ph.D. Associate Director, Adult Hydrocephalus Center, Sandra and Malcolm Berman Brain & Spine Institute Ever forget where you put your keys and worried for a moment that you?ve started to develop Alzheimer disease? A study...