United States: Experts reveal that nasal perception functions as an indicator to detect the initial stages of dementia or Alzheimer’s disease development, according to new research.
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Older adults who have mild cognitive impairment rate worse on a sneeze test than those with typical brain health, according to research in the March 24 Scientific Reports.
Researchers state that home testing provides early warnings about potential cognitive declines through this smell identification assessment.
According to the senior researcher Dr. Mark Albers, a neurologist at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, “Our goal has been to develop and validate a cost-effective, non-invasive test that can be performed at home, helping to set the stage for advancing research and treatment for Alzheimer’s,” US News reported.
“Early detection of cognitive impairment could help us identify people who are at risk of Alzheimer’s disease and intervene years before memory symptoms begin,” Albers noted.
Study details in brief
During the testing procedure, subjects need to identify and recall each odorous label placed on the cards to demonstrate their ability to discriminate against scents.
The participants smell a particular scent before choosing the correct scent name from four available options.
Test-takers must respond to questions regarding their self-assurance about their choices after the identification process.
A study group of 127 healthy brain individuals displayed age-related declines in both odor identification and smell memory abilities, according to researcher outcomes.
A group of 19 participants with mild cognitive impairment produced smell test scores that were lower than both groups of seniors with and without brain impairment, according to test results.
The obtained test results showed no differences between English and Spanish speakers, and participants managed the test accurately with or without receiving assistance from research assistants, according to study findings.
“Our results suggest that olfactory testing could be used in clinical research settings in different languages and among older adults to predict neurodegenerative disease and development of clinical symptoms,” as Albers noted.
Additional studies should validate this odor identification test while researchers explore its compatibility with other mental examination tools used for dementia and Alzheimer’s assessment.