Decline in sense of smell is connected to faster buildup of Alzheimer’s disease-related pathology seen in brain scans, according to new research focused on older adults who live outside of nursing homes. The findings provide additional evidence that loss of smell (known as anosmia) is a key early sign of Alzheimer’s-related cognitive impairment and the accumulation of associated harmful proteins, such as amyloid-beta and tau. The research, led by NIA scientists, was published in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease.
Decline in sense of smell had previously been confirmed as an early warning sign for Alzheimer’s in both human and animal studies, but its connection to the uptick of dementia-related brain imaging biomarkers over time had not been as closely studied in larger populations of older adults. For this study, the team tracked 364 participants from the Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging (BLSA) over an average period of about 2.5 years. The NIA-led BLSA is the longest running study of healthy aging in America.
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Thanks, Tony! I hope the scientists and doctors keep finding out more on this topic. I lost my sense of smell about two years ago when COVID -19 first hit our area. I hope researchers can figure it out and possibly restore this function. As Monk would say, “It’s a blessing and a curse.”.
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Thanks for sharing. Sorry about that freak side effect from COVID. That thing just keeps hurting humans one way or another.
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Fascinating information! My sense of smell was affected two years ago when I got sick. It has not returned. However, I have just moved to a different climate and will have to see if this affects it (different seasonal allergies). Fingers crossed!
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Good luck and thanks for sharing!
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When COVID first hit our area in 2020, I noticed that I lost my sense of smell. In the past 3 years my ability to remember new information has taken a big hit. Testing is being done now to figure out what might be causing to this. Waiting for results to come in…
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