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Odor identification deficits in diffuse lewy body disease.
Holly James Westervelt1, Robert A Stern, Geoffrey Tremont
1Department of Psychiatry, Rhode Island Hospital, Brown Medical School, Providence, Rhode Island 02903, USA. hwestervelt@lifespan.org
Summary
Patients with diffuse Lewy body disease exhibit more severe odor identification deficits than those with Alzheimer disease. Olfactory testing may aid in differentiating these neurodegenerative conditions.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Neurology
- Olfactory Function
Background:
- Olfactory deficits are common in Alzheimer disease (AD) and Parkinson disease (PD).
- Diffuse Lewy body disease (DLBD) shares clinical and pathological features with AD and PD.
- Odor identification abilities in DLBD have not been previously characterized.
Purpose of the Study:
- To characterize odor identification performance in patients with DLBD.
- To assess the clinical utility of odor identification tests for differentiating DLBD from AD.
Main Methods:
- Nine patients with DLBD and nine age/cognition-matched patients with AD underwent an odor identification task.
- The task was integrated into comprehensive neuropsychological evaluations.
Main Results:
- Patients with DLBD demonstrated significantly poorer performance on the odor identification test compared to AD patients.
- This indicates a more pronounced deficit in identifying odors in DLBD.
Conclusions:
- Odor identification deficits may be more prevalent and severe in DLBD than in AD.
- Olfactory testing shows potential as a tool for the antemortem differential diagnosis between DLBD and AD.