Alzheimer’s disease may be difficult to detect. The symptoms of this disorder usually become evident only after the progress of this dementia, which is a huge problem. And, in the absence of a definitive cure, our ability to stop the impact of the disease depends largely on early detection.
Smell. One of the clues we have when detecting Alzheimer’s in its early stages is through smell. A study conducted by researchers from the University of Chicago analyzed the impact of the disease on our sensory capacity and detected that there is a rapid loss of smell when making us greater could predict with some accuracy The advent of Alzheimer’s disease.
Smell of Magdalena. The relationship between memory and smell is very narrow. We know that the evocative capacity of smells It did not go unnoticedbut in recent decades science He has been confirmed This unique connection.
The reason for this close relationship can be anatomical. The olfactory bulb is the region of the brain that processes in the first instance the smells and then send the signal to other areas of the brain. This signal crosses key areas of the limbic system, areas linked to emotions and memory. “The olfactory signals reach the limbic system very quickly,” Explain to The Harvard Gazette Venkatesh Murthy, head of the university’s cell and molecular biology department.
515 participants. The study of the University of Chicago had 515 participants, advanced adults, registered in the memory and aging project of the Rush University. These participants were examined annually, exams that test their cognitive abilities to detect signs of dementia. These tests also studied their ability to identify odors, in addition to other health -related parameters.
More than memory loss. The team thus found a new link between smell and memory: a rapid loss of olfactory capacity prior to any cognitive loss could predict the arrival of various symptoms associated with Alzheimer’s. These symptoms included a lower volume of gray matter in the areas of the brain linked to smell and memory, cognitive loss and a greater risk of dementia.
They also found a relationship between this olfactory loss and the presence of the APOE-E4 gene, a genetic variant considered risk factor in the advent of Alzheimer’s. The details of the study were published In an article In the magazine Alzheimers & Dementia.
“This study provides another clue on how a rapid loss of the meaning of smell is a very good indicator of what will end structurally in specific regions of the brain,” ” explained in a press release Jayant M. Pinto, co -author of the study.
Get ahead of the disease. Alzheimer’s is an incurable disease for now, but there are different treatments that allow us to delay the development of its symptoms. For that, we must get ahead of the disease as much as we can. Something difficult in a disorder that only shows its consequences once the disease is advanced.
“If we could identify their 40, 50 or 60 people with greater risk, we could potentially have enough information to aim them in clinical trials and develop better medications,” also added in a press release Rachel Pacyna, work caoautora.
Own initiative. The fact that the change in our smell is rapid and before the arrival of cognitive deterioration opens an important window, putting the patient itself in warning. And it is that most of the ways we have to detect the appearance of dementia is through external evaluations, for example when family members detect memory problems or In language.
The loss of smell is something that, in principle, It can be striking to the patient himself and put it on guard or encourage him to seek medical advice. When the smell of the Magdalena stops bringing us memories, perhaps what we are playing is not only the evocation of a memory.
In Xataka | We have a new “theory of all” to understand Alzheimer’s. Your key is in small granules
Image | Cottonbro Studio
GIPHY App Key not set. Please check settings