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A ‘scratch and smell’ test is set to become an important tool in identifying people who are at risk of developing brain disorders, prior to the appearance of any symptoms.
University of Melbourne researchers from the Departments of Psychiatry at ORYGEN Research Centre, Melbourne Neuropsychiatry Centre and St. Vincent’s Hospital have discovered a link between a declining ability to correctly detect and identify smells and a variety of brain disorders including Alzheimer’s disease, Huntington’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, schizophrenia, and obsessive-compulsive disorder.
In a test conducted at Melbourne Health, participants were given 40 ‘scratch and smell’ cards and asked to identify a smell from a list of four possible answers such as coffee, roses, oranges and petrol.
Those people who later went on to develop a brain disorder or mental illness had demonstrated difficulty correctly answering more than half the questions.
The research has been compiled in a new book "Olfaction and the Brain", edited by University of Melbourne researchers Associate Professor Warwick Brewer, Professor Christos Pantelis and Professor David Castle, to be launched later today.
Associate Professor Brewer, from the ORYGEN Research Centre, said the test was easy, non-invasive and had been welcomed by the patients and staff.
“Because of the genetic link in many illnesses, it is hoped the test could also be used by family members of people who have developed an illness of the brain,” he said.
Professor Pantelis, from the Melbourne Neuropsychiatry Centre, said smell ability provided unique information about brain structure and function.
“Mental illness can arrest the full maturation of the frontal lobe, while degenerative illness can damage it,” Professor Pantelis said.
“This area of the brain is used to analyse and identify smells so an abnormal sense of smell may indicate problems in this ‘thinking’ area of the brain,” he said.
“We have found that the sense of smell is worse in those with more severe illnesses. In some disorders, like schizophrenia, this may help us identify those who will go on to have a more severe illness. In other conditions, like dementia, this may indicate how advanced someone’s illness is, allowing us to offer more specialised treatment.”
Professor Castle, based at St. Vincent’s Hospital, said research had identified a strong link between smell and schizophrenia across all age groups.
“We became interested in how the ability to smell is affected in a range of other brain disorders and this book was a logical extension of that,’’ he said.
Editor's Note: Original news release can be found here.
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