Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 24, 2026

Olfactory Assays for Mouse Models of Neurodegenerative Disease
Published on: August 25, 2014
Mechanisms of olfactory dysfunction in aging and neurodegenerative disorders
1Department of Neurology, Semmelweis University Medical School, Balassa u. 6, Budapest 1083, Hungary. tibor@neur.sote.hu
Abstract:
Although olfaction is the primal sense in animals, its importance in humans is underappreciated. Extensive literature demonstrates that aging is accompanied by olfactory loss and hyposmia/anosmia which is also a feature of several neurodegenerative disorders. Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases are characterized by severe olfactory deficits, while problems of olfactory discrimination are less prominent features in several other disorders. Olfactory loss is accompanied by structural abnormalities of the olfactory epithelium, the olfactory bulb and the central olfactory cortices. This review summarizes our present knowledge about the pathological changes in the olfactory system during aging and in various neurodegenerative diseases.
Related Concept Videos
Olfactory Receptors: Location and Structure
Olfaction
The olfactory receptors are embedded in the cilia of the...
Physiology of Smell and Olfactory Pathway
The olfactory...
Aging
Cellular Clock Theory
The cellular clock theory posits that the human lifespan is closely tied to the finite capacity of cells to divide, a phenomenon governed by telomeres, which are protective caps at the ends of...
Alzheimer Disease l: Introduction
Alzheimer's Disease: Overview
The clinical diagnosis of AD hinges on the presence of memory and other cognitive impairments. Biomarkers, such as changes in Aβ and tau...

