Amy Florian from Corgenius released some information regarding new tests to alert you to the early signs of dementia and Alzheimer's disease. The first study was about sense of smell and the second one was about personality changes.
Here are some highlights taken directly from her research on the studies that we thought were important.
Regarding smell, scientists studied several factors in reasonably healthy people and then followed them for five years to see who developed dementia. They found that when combined with baseline cognitive function at the start, the most important factor was sense of smell. They specifically studied five scents – orange, leather, peppermint, rose, and fish. The greater number of scents that created difficulty and the more poorly a person could discern these smells, the more likely they were to exhibit dementia five years later. Researchers noted that this can’t be relied on as a singular test, but rather as a realization that sensory function is closely related to brain function, and may be among the first areas to exhibit deficiencies.
Another study focused on the long-recognized fact that personality changes are an early sign of Alzheimer’s disease, especially becoming uncharacteristically angry, aggressive, paranoid, or inappropriate. Now researchers have developed a 34-question quiz that can help determine the breadth and depth of behavioral changes, and they are proposing an intermediate diagnosis of mild behavioral impairment. You can take the quiz here. Note that these changes should persist for 6 months and be fundamental changes in behavior in order to indicate problems.
We are always looking for ways to keep you informed on the latest news with issues we come accross and cognitive decline is an important one.