Scientists and medical researchers have struggled over the last few years to find a definite cause for the types of dementia that often afflict senior citizens. However, some new testing has shed light on one possible predictor of dementia and Parkinson’s disease. A person’s sense of smell may hold the key to early detection of dementia.
Researchers in both the United States and Sweden conducted a test on over 2,000 individuals. The test participants were all between 71 and 82 years old. The researchers exposed each of the participants to 12 different scents. The participants were rated on their scent identification on a scale from good to poor.
The first test was conducted around 2000. The researchers then followed up with the same test subjects 13 years later. The participants were once again exposed to the same 12 smells and rated on their ability to correctly identify them.
The medical researchers found that those who had a poor sense of smell where at a 46 percent greater risk of dying within a decade than those who had a good sense of smell. Researchers did take into account other factors such as race, health and sex.
A poor sense of smell among the elderly was found to indicate the presence of two different types of diseases. Researchers found that a poor sense of smell was common in those with Parkinson’s disease and other dementias such as Alzheimer’s disease. A poor sense of smell was also indicative of cardiovascular disease. Researchers also concluded that a poor sense of smell was not an indicator of cancer or pulmonary diseases.
Researchers believe that doctors in the future will be able to test a patient’s sense of smell as an early diagnosis measure for dementia. This will be very important when researchers have developed more effective treatments to halt the progress of dementia.
