Old man smelling the roses. Anosmia.

Impaired sense of smell (anosmia) is an early warning sign of neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer’s dementia, Parkinson’s disease, Korsakoff’s syndrome, Lewy-body dementia, HIV-related dementia, and multiple sclerosis.  Anosmia may occur in other conditions, too, such as diabetes.  Anosmia does not affect all patients with neurodegenerative illnesses, but it is nonetheless frequent enough to be cause for concern and to warrant investigation.

Most anosmia suffers are unaware of their loss of sense of smell. Indeed, less than a quarter of people with older adults are aware of smelling problems until they are tested. This highlights the importance of olfactory tests. In dementia-free persons, impaired olfaction predicts faster cognitive decline and is an indicator of incipient neurodegeneration.

Get Tested

If there isn’t an obvious cause for impaired sense of smell (such as smoking), and you really can’t smell the roses anymore, then you should get yourself tested. Curiously, an ear, nose and throat surgeon is not the person to see; it’s not about the nasal mucosa, it’s about your brain!  Ideally, find a good neuropsychologist or neurologist.  If you can’t get help, contact Ormond Neuroscience.

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