Taste, smell and neuropsychological performance of individuals at familial risk for Alzheimer's disease

Olfaction and Taste Processing in Autism

“…Studies of schizophrenia found that unaffected family members, including monozygotic twins (58) and other 1 st or 2 nd degree relatives (59), performed worse on olfactory identification than healthy controls, but somewhat better than their affected relatives, suggesting that olfactory dysfunction could be related to a predisposition for psychosis. Individuals with familial risk for Alzheimer's disease also show impairments in olfactory functions (60,61). Together, these studies suggest a genetic vulnerability to olfactory dysfunction in other disorders, so further investigation may be warranted in autism.…”

Nutrition and dementia care: Informing dietetic practice

“…• Unintended weight loss [4][5][6][7][8] • Mood disturbances at meal times 5,11 • Anxiety over being fed by another person 10,61 • Food refusal 5 • Mood disorders leading to anorexia 28 • Poor concentration at meal times 61 • Forgetting how to use utensils 5,10 • Altered taste and smell, leading to dietary preference changes 12,31,32,39 • Consistent routine for people with dementia so they feel comfortable at meal times 10 • Allowing additional time for meals 10 • Using music at meal times 57,62 • Removing distractions at meal times 7,11,59 • Offering finger foods or preferred foods 10,12,54,56,61 • Offering a range of foods and snacks throughout the day 10,61 • Enhancing social eating with family at meal times 10,57,58 • Repeated encouragement at meal times 10 Stage 3 Advanced deterioration of language and cognition…”

“…• Unintended weight loss [4][5][6][7][8] • Dysphagia, requiring oral nutrition support 31,60 • Palliative 'eating' as appropriate, for example, liquid ice cream, sucking on chocolate buttons 44,46,61 • Provision of oral nutrition support, although this is unlikely to ameliorate weight loss 31,60 (a) The nutrition-related complications of dementia are highly variable and do not always fit within the listed stages of dementia. It is important that dietitians develop interventions that aim to appropriately address complications experienced by the person with dementia in their care.…”

The Predictive Role of Hyposmia in Alzheimer's Disease

“…The allele ε4 of apolipoprotein E gene is a known genetic marker of hereditary AD with a low prevalence and it is the subject of ongoing researches. Schiffman (Schiffman SS et al, 2002) found that at-risk relatives of AD patients had higher detection thresholds and decreased odor memory than control subjects with an ApoE-4 status not associated with at-risk status. Conversely Graves (Graves et al, 1999) showed an increased risk of cognitive decline in patients with olfactory deficit and allele ε4, greater in males but with a trend also evident in females.…”