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Odor Identification Tests Can Identify Patients Vulnerable To Developing Alzheimers Disease

Elizabeth Fox
21st December, 2016

Researchers at Columbia University Medical Center (CUMC), in collaboration with the New York State Psychiatric Institute and NewYork-Presbyterian, have unveiled promising findings that suggest an odor identification test could play a crucial role in early detection of Alzheimer’s disease and cognitive decline. The results, presented at the Alzheimer’s Association’s International Conference in Toronto, point towards a potentially groundbreaking approach in diagnosing the disease at its nascent stages. The study leverages the University of Pennsylvania Smell Identification Test (UPSIT), highlighting its effectiveness as a practical and cost-efficient alternative to the current, more invasive diagnostic methods. The research involved two separate studies that collectively strengthen the argument for UPSIT’s predictive capabilities. In the initial study, 397 older adults from a diverse population in northern Manhattan, none of whom had dementia at the study's onset, were subjected to the UPSIT. Additionally, MRI scans were used to measure the thickness of their entorhinal cortex, a brain region first affected by Alzheimer’s. Four years into the study, 12.6% of the participants developed dementia, with nearly 20% showing signs of cognitive decline. Interestingly, participants with lower UPSIT scores, indicating a reduced ability to identify odors, were significantly more likely to develop dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. This correlation was not observed with the thickness of the entorhinal cortex, although a significant relationship between cortical thickness and UPSIT scores was noted in participants who transitioned to dementia. REFERENCE Lee, S., Kreisl, W. C., et al. (2016). Predictive Utility of Entorhinal Cortex Thinning and Odor Identification Test for Transition to Dementia and Cognitive Decline in an Urban Community Population. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.