Olfactory dysfunction in Guamanian ALS, parkinsonism, and dementia

Abstract

Marked olfactory deficits are common to all four Guamanian neurodegenerative syndromes, and suggest the possibility of similar central neuropathologic substrates. The deficit in the Guamanian ALS group contrasts with idiopathic ALS, in which olfactory function has been reported to be only slightly compromised.

Analysis of neurological disease in four dimensions: insight from ALS-PDC epidemiology and animal models

“…These, in turn, may lead to attempts to identify such behavioral outcomes in pre-clinical populations. A good example of this process would be the use of the apparent early olfactory disturbance in PD [51,52] to place these individuals into the correct position in the timeline. Behavioral indices of altered neural function might then trigger the search for identified biomarkers, the latter symptomatic of unique changes within the nervous system at particular time points.…”

Olfactory dysfunction in cerebellar ataxia and multiple system atrophy

“…Olfactory dysfunction has been reported in different neurodegenerative disorders including Parkinson's disease (PD), Alzheimer's dementia (AD) and Guamanian amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) [2]. In addition, olfactory activation is a consistent finding in studies using functional magnetic resonance imaging [11,14].…”

Odor Memory and Aging

“…Olfaction has also been found to be impaired in the PD population independent of age, disease duration, disease severity, anti-Parkinson medication, and neuropsychological measures (Doty, 1992;Doty, Deems, & Stellar, 1988;Wenning, Shephard, Hawkes, Petuchevitch, Lees, & Quinn, 1995). Although, olfactory de®cit is a classic feature of PD (Quinn, 1997), the level of de®cit does not correlate well with other diagnostic measures (Ahlskog et al, 1998).…”