Smells can diagnose Alzheimer's
ALISON HARDIE
HEALTH CORRESPONDENT
Key points
• Inability to smell certain odours predict susceptibility to Alzheimer’s
• 2-5% of over 65s and 20% of over 85s estimated to suffer from condition
• No cure currently but treatment can help patients live with disease
Key quote
"Early diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease is critical for patients and their families to receive the most beneficial treatment and medications" - Dr Davangere Devanand, Columbia University Professor of clinical psychiatry and neurology
Story in full A SIGNIFICANT breakthrough in diagnosing Alzheimer’s disease was announced yesterday after scientists discovered 10 smells which can be used to predict if patients will develop the condition.
The remarkable results of research have shown that the inability to smell certain odours can determine which patients with minimal or mild cognitive impairment will go on to develop Alzheimer’s.
Researchers have now produced a list of the top ten smells which they believe are the best predictors of the disease. These are strawberry, smoke, soap, menthol, clove, pineapple, natural gas, lilac, lemon and leather.
The researchers, presenting their results yesterday at the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology annual meeting, said their odour- identification test was a strong predictor of Alzheimer’s.
The team, from the New York State Psychiatric Institute, said their results were similar to tests measuring reduction in brain volumes on MRI scans and memory tests in acting as potential predictors.
Estimates suggest that between 2 and 5 per cent of people over 65 and up to 20 per cent of those over 85 suffer from Alzheimer’s, a progressive brain disorder which gradually destroys the memory.
The Alzheimer’s Society estimates that there are currently more than 750,000 people in the UK with dementia of some sort.
The New York study involved testing 150 patients with mild cognitive impairment using the 10 odours every six months, alongside 63 healthy, elderly subjects annually for five years.
Dr Davangere Devanand, professor of clinical psychiatry and neurology at Columbia University, said: "Narrowing the list of odours can potentially expedite screening and health with early diagnosis."
He added that studies involving the brains of Alzheimer’s patients showed that nerve pathways involved in perceiving and recognising odours were affected at a very early stage. "Early diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease is critical for patients and their families to receive the most beneficial treatment and medications," he said.
"While currently there is no cure for the disease, early diagnosis and treatment can help patients and their families to better plan their lives."
The researchers are also looking at brain imaging tests and performance in memory and other cognitive tests in efforts to help physicians find the best methods of diagnosing Alzheimer’s.
Dr Susanne Sorensen, the head of research at the Alzheimer’s Society, said: "The sense of smell is affected in dementia like the other senses, but anecdotal evidence suggests that the ability to smell and identify some odours disappears faster than the other senses.
"There is still no 100 per cent certain way of diagnosing Alzheimer’s while a person is alive and the physician relies on several tests to reach a best clinical judgment.
"A test that is quick to carry out and non-evasive would - if proven to work - be a significant step forward."
Dr Sorensen added that the Alzheimer’s Society is funding a study into a person’s ability to smell lavender.
"There are many types of dementia and this research is investigating whether they affect a person’s sense of smell differently," she said.
"This study has not yet reached a conclusion, but it is interesting that more research groups are now systematically investigating the sense of smell."
From (thescotsman.scotsman.com)