A decline in a person’s sense of smell over time can predict their loss of cognitive function, and foretell structural changes in regions of the brain important in Alzheimer’s disease and dementia, research shows.
The findings, based on a longitudinal study of 515 older adults published in Alzheimer’s & Dementia: The Journal of the Alzheimer’s Association, could lead to the development of smell-test screening to detect cognitive impairment earlier in patients.
“This study provides another clue to how a rapid decline in the sense of smell is a really good indicator of what’s going to end up structurally occurring in specific regions of the brain,” says senior author Jayant M. Pinto, a professor of surgery at the University of Chicago and ENT specialist who studies olfactory and sinus disease….