Can a simple scent test at home predict a risk?

Catching the early Alzheimer’s disease is the key to slowing down his progress; However, the loss of memory often becomes noticeable, the disease could already follow a long way.

Now scientists from Mass General Brigham have taken a big step towards earlier detection – using the sense of smell.

Alzheimer is now aft Almost 7 million Americans, and this number is to double up to 13.9 million by 2060. Even more shocking statistics lies in the fact that about 90% of people with a mild cognitive decline have never received a formal diagnosis.

Diagnosing Alzheimer’s disease in the early stages is difficult when the symptoms can be subtle and easily overlooked. There is no single final test to distinguish between normal forgetfulness of age from the beginning of the cognitive inheritance. Early warning signs often include memory falls, difficulties in finding words, problems with solving problems, and mood change or behavior.

Studies have shown a relationship between the falling sense of the smell and dementia. The brain regions responsible for the processing of odors are often among the first affected by Alzheimer, and changes begin 15-20 years before memory problems.

Scientists from Mass General Brigham have now developed this knowledge to develop a simple, digital fragrance at home test Called Aromh Brain Health Test (ABHT), which could detect Alzheimer’s years before the appearance of traditional symptoms.

ABHT may assess the ability of a person to identify, distinguish, remember and assess the strength of various odors to ensure tips on brain health and potential early signs of cognitive inheritance.

“Early detection of cognitive disorders can help us identify people exposed to Alzheimer’s disease and intervene years before the signs of memory,” said the study author, Mark Albers, neurologist at Massachusetts General Hospital, Wa press release.

Scientists used ABHT in various groups, including normal cognitive people, people with subjective cognitive ailments and those with a mild cognitive disorder. The results have shown that the olfactory dropped with age, and people with mild cognitive disorder had lower results of identification and discrimination of the fragrance compared to normal cognitive people, regardless of age, sex or education.

“Our results suggest that olfactory tests can be used in clinical trial research in various languages ​​and among older adults to predict neurodegenerative diseases and the development of clinical symptoms,” added Albers.