Iran Press/Iran news: Dr. Azadeh Sadat Zendehbad, an elderly medicine specialist and a researcher in the study of the relationship between olfactory sense and dementia, said that “Alzheimer’s patients suffer from an olfactory disorder before any other clinical symptoms appear.”
Therefore, simple olfactory tests can predict to some extent whether a middle-aged or elderly person is at risk for Alzheimer’s disease.
“The most reliable smell test in the world is the UPSIT which is carried out at Pennsylvania University. This smell test in Iran has been standardized by a medical engineering team in accordance with Iranian culture,” she added.
This study was performed on patients at two clinics of cognition of memory disorders in Tehran in three groups of “control”, “mild cognitive impairment” and “Alzheimer’s”.
“Then, to evaluate the olfactory function of the subjects, we used two aromas in the Iranian Smell Identification Test which is an Iranian version of the University of Pennsylvania’s UPSIT,” noted Zendehbad.
The results of this study showed that the Iranian Smell Identification Test as a very simple, inexpensive and accessible screening tool, along with other neurobiological and imaging tools, can detect Alzheimer’s in early stages.
In fact, the olfactory test for Alzheimer’s diagnosis is the cheapest, safest and most accessible means of diagnosing Alzheimer’s very quickly.
The results of the study were published in the January 2020 issue of the Applied Neuropsychology: Adult journal.
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