Loss of sense of smell linked to Alzheimer's

Losing the sense of smell may be an early warning of the onset of Alzheimer's, new research published today (January 13th) has discovered.

Dr Daniel Wesson and his team at New York University ran tests on mice which were given the disease and found it was the first thing to disappear as part of in the irreversible deterioration of the brain.

Dr Susanne Sorensen was pleased with the research and said more money should be afforded to such projects.

She continued: "Amyloid is an important target for possible treatments for dementia.

"While this research in mice clearly shows a link between the loss of smell and amyloid build up, mice depend on their acute sense of smell so this may not easily transfer into diagnostic tools for people."

Dr Sorensen concluded that scientists do not yet fully understand how the build-up of amyloid affects cognition deterioration and this must be sought as earlier diagnosis is a major priority for improving quality of life.

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