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No longer recognizing the smell of soap: a signal not to be ignored
Imagine this: You open your usual shower gel, the one with the aroma you’ve been using for years, and suddenly… nothing. Or, more accurately, a hazy, difficult-to-identify fragrance. This seemingly little detail could be one of the first symptoms of cognitive loss, according to Professor Davangere Devanand, a psychiatrist and neurologist at Columbia University in New York.
Why? Because smelling is a brain function that is intimately related to remembering. Early-onset Alzheimer’s disease affects the parts of the brain that allow us to distinguish scents.
A simple, but revealing test
In an eight-year study involving over 1,000 individuals, researchers employed a simple olfactory test: they scraped smell samples to identify typical aromas like soap, smoke, rose, or leather. What was the result? People who had difficulties naming these odors were considerably more likely to experience cognitive impairment later in life.
A score of less than 8 out of 12 was previously deemed a warning indicator. When combined with a short memory test, this sensory test showed to be as useful as some brain MRIs or considerably more extensive biochemical investigations. A promising outcome.
A vital clue for early detection.
