Sniffing out Alzheimer's disease.
Scientists are turning to noses when it comes to Alzheimer's disease. Research suggests that difficulty identifying common smells such as lemon, banana, and cinnamon may be the first sign of the disease.
From the Associated Press story:
In the study, 600 people between the ages of 54 and 100 were asked to identify a dozen familiar smells: onion, lemon, cinnamon, black pepper, chocolate, rose, banana, pineapple, soap, paint thinner, gasoline and smoke.A quarter of the people correctly identified all the odors or missed only one. Half of them knew at least nine of the 12. The lowest-scoring quarter of the people correctly identified eight or fewer of the odors.
The subjects took 21 cognitive tests annually over the next five years. About one-third of the people developed at least mild trouble with memory and thinking.
The researchers took into account age, gender, education and a history of strokes or smoking, and still found lower scores predicted higher risk of cognitive decline.
Lead author Robert Wilson of Chicago's Rush University Medical Center said a diminishing sense of smell isn't cause for panic.