{"id":4293,"date":"2017-08-28T15:10:39","date_gmt":"2017-08-28T15:10:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/braintest.com\/?p=4293"},"modified":"2019-12-06T19:16:12","modified_gmt":"2019-12-06T19:16:12","slug":"changes-smell-early-warning-sign-alzheimers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/braintest.com\/es\/changes-smell-early-warning-sign-alzheimers\/","title":{"rendered":"Could Changes In Smell Be An Early Warning Sign of Alzheimer&#8217;s?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span lang=\"en-US\">Based on a new study, being unable to distinguish between certain smells, such as petrol and bubble gum, could be an early indication of Alzheimer&#8217;s. As the olfactory neurons become damaged, reduced odor identification may be a clear biomarker. These findings have recently been published in the journal, <\/span><span lang=\"en-US\"><i>Neurology<\/i><\/span><span lang=\"en-US\">, and may one day support the diagnostic process.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: large;\"><b><span lang=\"en-US\">How Alzheimer&#8217;s Influences the Olfactory System <\/span><\/b><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><span lang=\"en-US\">Before we dive into the latest research, let&#8217;s discuss the connection between Alzheimer&#8217;s and your sense of smell. Since Alzheimer&#8217;s is a degenerative condition, the affected population experiences symptoms across varying phases. As damage to the brain expands, new, progressive symptoms arise.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p>Throughout stages 1-2, for instance, this disease is often referred to as clinically silent. Although memory and learning will begin to suffer, non-cognitive changes will also develop, including potential olfactory issues. Since olfaction and memory are so closely related in terms of the limbic system, this is why particular smells evoke emotion.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><span lang=\"en-US\">Have you ever personally experienced this? <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><span lang=\"en-US\">When detecting a certain smell, you&#8217;re transported to a specific time or memory? That&#8217;s because previous experiences can be triggered by an olfactory stimulus, including our ability to learn. Although our ability to smell diminishes with age, medical causes can also affect this sensation. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p lang=\"en-US\">Throughout years of research, the link between Alzheimer&#8217;s and the loss of olfaction is clear. Although it&#8217;s unknown why this occurs in Alzheimer&#8217;s patients, various theories have developed. <a href=\"http:\/\/cdn.intechweb.org\/pdfs\/19241.pdf\">Two of the core theories<\/a> include:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>\n<p lang=\"en-US\"><b>The Olfactory Vector Theory<\/b> \u2014 Developed in 1985, it&#8217;s possible that the olfactory system acts as a gateway for various triggering agents. Meaning, loss of smell may be due to the transport of virus or toxins traveling from the nose to the brain.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p lang=\"en-US\"><b>The Secondary Degeneration Theory<\/b> \u2014 Since the limbic system is particularly susceptible among those with Alzheimer&#8217;s disease, loss of olfaction may be due to retrograde secondary degeneration.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2 lang=\"en-US\"><span style=\"font-size: large;\"><b>Study Finds \u2014 Changes In Smell May Indicate the Early Stages of Alzheimer&#8217;s<\/b><\/span><\/h2>\n<p lang=\"en-US\">As mentioned, for over 30 years, scientists have been exploring the possible connection between the difficulty in identifying various scents and memory loss. Based on the areas that are initially damaged by Alzheimer&#8217;s, involving your ability to smell and name odors from memory, this connection is sparking new areas of research.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000080;\"><span lang=\"zxx\"><u><a href=\"http:\/\/www.neurology.org\/content\/89\/4\/327\"><span lang=\"en-US\">Within this new study<\/span><\/a><\/u><\/span><\/span><span lang=\"en-US\">, researchers from McGill University wanted to test their theory regarding changes to the olfactory system. Researchers studied 274 healthy participants who were considered to be &#8216;high risk&#8217; for developing Alzheimer&#8217;s, based on the fact that they had a parent who had suffered from this degenerative disease. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span lang=\"en-US\">During the study, each participant was given a multiple choice, scratch-and-sniff test in order to identify various scents. These included strong smells, such as lemon, petrol and bubble gum. Of these participants, one hundred of them had also volunteered to have lumbar puncture tests, measuring levels of AD-related proteins in their <\/span>cerebrospinal fluid.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">What they found, was that:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">A reduction in odor identification was associated with lower cognitive score and older age, as well as an increased ratio of tau <\/span>and \u03b2-amyloid.<\/li>\n<li>Among healthy high-risk individuals, odor identification reflects a potential degree of preclinical Alzheimer&#8217;s pathology.<\/li>\n<li>Diminished odor identification may be an affordable and practical biomarker of Alzheimer&#8217;s.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span lang=\"en-US\">Of course, there is still more research that needs to be conducted, but based on the current evidence, an odor detection test may support future diagnostic processes. When combined with paper tests or the BrainTest app, for instance, by conducting olfactory tests, symptoms may be more clearly identified as a sign of Alzheimer&#8217;s. <\/span><\/p>\n<h2 lang=\"en-US\"><span style=\"font-size: large;\"><b>Related Studies That Link Sense of Smell to Alzheimer&#8217;s<\/b><\/span><\/h2>\n<p lang=\"en-US\">Since this connection has been explored for decades, this isn&#8217;t the first study to verify such a link. Although many researchers have been skeptical that a simple &#8216;smell test&#8217; could help diagnosis such a complex disease, it&#8217;s hard to ignore the research.<\/p>\n<p lang=\"en-US\">Based on previous research, here are some additional findings:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span lang=\"en-US\">At the University of Florida, a ruler and a spoonful of peanut butter were shown to be effective tools in terms of confirming the early stages of Alzheimer&#8217;s. A graduate student had noticed that while shadowing in the clinic, patients were not being tested for their sense of smell. When testing her theory, it was found that patients who were in the early stages of Alzheimer&#8217;s, <\/span><span style=\"color: #000080;\"><span lang=\"zxx\"><u><a href=\"http:\/\/news.ufl.edu\/archive\/2013\/10\/uf-researchers-find-that-peanut-butter-test-can-help-diagnose-alzheimers-dise.php\"><span lang=\"en-US\">struggled to detect the distinct smell of peanut butter<\/span><\/a><\/u><\/span><\/span><span lang=\"en-US\">. <\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li><span lang=\"en-US\">Within <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/pubmed\/22552846\">a longitudinal study<\/a>, it was found that people aged 41 to 85 years old, who had lost their sense of smell, experienced a 50 percent chance of developing Alzheimer&#8217;s. <\/span><\/li>\n<li><span lang=\"en-US\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.massgeneral.org\/News\/pressrelease.aspx?id=2013\">After studying 183 patients<\/a> at Massachusetts General Hospital, the lead investigator stated that a diminished sense of smell caused by Alzheimer&#8217;s, may be detected as early as a decade before symptoms of memory loss surface. <\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span lang=\"en-US\">At the end of the day, one of the most important aspects of treatment is early intervention. If a more conclusive test was developed, it&#8217;s possible that patients could intervene years before significant cognitive issues develop. By then, researchers may better understand this disease, helping patients reverse poor brain health and future cognitive decline. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #cc0000;\"><span lang=\"en-US\"><b>Suggested reading<\/b><\/span><\/span><span lang=\"en-US\">: <a href=\"https:\/\/braintest.com\/memories-alzheimers-patients-may-not-gone-forever\/\">The Memories of Alzheimer&#8217;s Patients May Not Be Gone Forever<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong>If you are currently concerned about potential early warning signs, it is important that you take action. Our scientifically-validated app can help you detect early warnings signs of Alzheimer&#8217;s. <a href=\"https:\/\/go.onelink.me\/Rk33?pid=blog&#038;c=olfactory-changes-alz\">Try it for free today!<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Based on a new study, being unable to distinguish between certain smells, such as petrol and bubble gum, could be an early indication of Alzheimer&#8217;s. As the olfactory neurons become damaged, reduced odor identification may be a clear biomarker. These findings have recently been published in the journal, Neurology, and<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[57,65],"tags":[103],"class_list":["post-4293","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-alzheimers-news","category-brain-health","tag-sign"],"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":false,"thumbnail":false,"medium":false,"medium_large":false,"large":false,"1536x1536":false,"2048x2048":false,"rp-thumbnail":false,"product":false},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"Krista Hillis","author_link":"https:\/\/braintest.com\/es\/author\/kristahillis\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"Based on a new study, being unable to distinguish between certain smells, such as petrol and bubble gum, could be an early indication of Alzheimer&#8217;s. As the olfactory neurons become damaged, reduced odor identification may be a clear biomarker. These findings have recently been published in the journal, Neurology, and","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/braintest.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4293","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/braintest.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/braintest.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/braintest.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/braintest.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4293"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/braintest.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4293\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5372,"href":"https:\/\/braintest.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4293\/revisions\/5372"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/braintest.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4293"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/braintest.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4293"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/braintest.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4293"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}