From: mha23x@gmail.com   
      
   Why sense of SMELL is the biggest tell-tale factor for Alzheimer's - and could   
   be spotted 10 YEARS before memory loss symptoms   
      
   By Mia De Graaf For Dailymail.com   
   15:04 EST 14 Nov 2016, updated 17:27 EST 14 Nov 2016   
   	   
      
   Growing swell of research suggests poor smell sense is the first symptom   
   But current test methods are limited, do not account for variation in senses   
   A new 4-point test has fine-tuned smell exams to check for Alzheimer's   
   Using it, researchers were correctly able to identify patients with higher   
   Alzheimer's risk purely based on their sense of smell    
   A fading sense of smell could be the first sign of Alzheimer's, a new report   
   warns.   
      
   A study of 183 patients at Massachusetts General Hospital found those with   
   early signs of the disease were far less likely to be able to identify or   
   easily recall smells.   
      
   It is the latest, and most conclusive, evidence to date that memory loss is   
   not the first sign of Alzheimer's.   
      
   In fact, lead investigator Dr Mark Albers says, a hampered sense of smell   
   caused by the disease could be detected a decade before patients start   
   becoming forgetful.   
      
   A fading sense of smell could be the first sign of Alzheimer's, a new study   
   warns	+5   
   A fading sense of smell could be the first sign of Alzheimer's, a new study   
   warns   
   'There is increasing evidence that the neurodegeneration behind Alzheimer's   
   disease starts at least 10 years before the onset of memory symptoms,' Dr   
   Albers, of the MGH Neurology Department, explains.    
      
   This is not the first time researchers have explored smell as a symptom.    
      
   However, previous olfactory testing methods had a number of limitations.   
   Primarily, they do not take into account the great variation in olfactory   
   ability among healthy individuals.   
      
   To advance this burgeoning field of research, MGH researchers developed a   
   four-pronged non-invasive test.   
      
   It is designed measure older patients' ability to recognize, remember and   
   distinguish between odors.   
      
   The patients selected for the study were deemed to have an increased risk of   
   Alzheimer's disease after undergoing genetic imaging and memory tests.   
      
   First, the patients were tested for how well they could identify smells.    
      
   They were presented with 10 scents: menthol, clove, leather, strawberry,   
   lilac, pineapple, smoke, soap, grape or lemon.   
      
   After smelling each one for two seconds, they were asked whether the scent was   
   familiar. They then had to pick the name of the scent from a choice of four.     
      
   The study was still able to correctly identify those whose brain scans showed   
   hallmark signals of Alzheimer's - such as amyloid plaque build-up - simply   
   based on their sense of smell	+5   
   The study was still able to correctly identify those whose brain scans showed   
   hallmark signals of Alzheimer's - such as amyloid plaque build-up - simply   
   based on their sense of smell   
      
   How to spot Alzheimer's disease years before symptoms develop   
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   Second, they were tested on their awareness of scents, and their memory of   
   scents.     
      
   They were given a 20-point questionnaire asking about the scents they just   
   smelled.   
      
   The questionnaire listed the scents they smelled, as well as 10 other scent   
   names - banana, garlic, cherry, baby powder, grass, fruit punch, peach,   
   chocolate, dirt and orange.   
      
   Finally, they are tested on how well they can discriminate between smells,   
   given a choice of two and asked if they are the same or different.     
      
   Taking into account the large variation in sense of smell between healthy   
   people, the study was still able to correctly identify those whose brain scans   
   showed hallmark signals of Alzheimer's - such as amyloid plaque build-up -   
   simply based on their    
   sense of smell.    
      
   Albers and his colleagues are currently recruiting participants for a   
   larger-scale study to validate these results.    
      
   'It is well recognized that early diagnosis and intervention are likely to   
   produce the most effective therapeutic strategy for Alzheimer's disease -   
   preventing the onset or the progression of symptoms,' he says.    
      
   'If these results hold up, this sort of inexpensive, noninvasive screening   
   could help us identify the best candidates for novel therapies to prevent the   
   development of symptoms of this tragic disease.'   
      
      
      
   http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-3935696/Why-sense-SMEL   
   -biggest-tell-tale-factor-Alzheimer-s-spotted-10-YEARS-memory-lo   
   s-symptoms.html   
      
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