| Title | Olfactory screening test in mild cognitive impairment. | | Author(s) | Eibenstein A, Fioretti AB, Simaskou MN, Sucapane P, Mearelli S, Mina C, Amabile G, Fusetti M | | Institution | Surgical Sciences Department, ENT, University of L'Aquila, Piazza S. Tommasi 1, Coppito, I-67100, L'Aquila, Italy. | | Source | Neurol Sci 2005 Jul; 26(3):156-60. | | MeSH | Aged
Aged, 80 and over
Aging
Cognition Disorders
Dementia
Female
Humans
Male
Matched-Pair Analysis
Middle Aged
Olfaction Disorders
Severity of Illness Index
Smell
| | Abstract | Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) is a transient status between physiologic ageing and dementia. Each year more than 12% of subjects with MCI develop Alzheimer's disease. This study evaluated the presence of an olfactory deficit in amnesic MCI (aMCI) patients. Twenty-nine patients diagnosed with aMCI and a homogeneous control group of 29 subjects were enrolled in the study. Olfactory function was assessed by the Sniffin' Sticks Screening Test (SSST) and the Mini Mental State Examination, the Clinical Dementia Rating, the Geriatric Depression Scale and the Mental Deterioration Battery were used to evaluate the neurocognitive status. aMCI patients showed a significant impairment of their olfactory identification compared to controls (SSST score: 8.3+/-2.1 vs. 10.8+/-0.9; p<0.001). These results suggest that olfactory tests should be part of the diagnostic armamentarium of pre-clinical dementia. A long-term follow up might confirm the olfactory identification function as an early and reliable marker in the diagnosis of pre-clinical dementia. | | Language | eng | | Pub Type(s) | Clinical Trial
Controlled Clinical Trial
Journal Article
| | PubMed ID | 16086128 |
|
