According to the Alzheimer’s Association, a decreased ability to identify odors could be an early sign of cognitive decline and Alzheimer’s disease. Several research studies have noticed that a declining sense of smell is linked with smaller brain volumes, which causes memory problems or even Alzheimer’s. (1)

Jennifer Stamps, a graduate student, and her colleagues reported a discovery that a simple test with the use of peanut butter and a ruler can confirm a diagnosis of early stage Alzheimer’s disease. (2)

A simple scoop of peanut butter and a ruler can be used to detect diagnosis of Alzheimer’s

This small pilot study was recorded in the Journal of Neurological Sciences.  The study tested patients with 1 tablespoon of peanut butter and a metric ruler. There were 18 patients with Alzheimer’s disease (AD), 24 patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI), and 26 patients with other causes of dementia. (2)

Patients closed his or her eyes and mouth, while blocking one nostril. The clinician held out a ruler next to the open nostril and held the peanut butter starting at the bottom of the ruler, moving up 1 cm at a time during the exhale, repeating until the patient could detect the odor. The procedure was repeated on the other nostril after a 90-second delay. (3,4)

The results of the study showed that all 18 early-stage AD patients had trouble smelling the peanut butter with their left nostril, until it reached an average of 10 cm from the nose, which was farther away than the test of the right nostril. (5)

Patients with other forms of non-Alzheimer’s dementia did not show any smelling ability discrepancy, or had a worse right nostril than left. (5)

For patients with MCI, 10 out of the 24 had left nostril impairment and 14 didn’t. This may suggest that the former group may develop Alzheimer’s. Researchers say more study is needed to fully understand the implications. (5)

At the moment, the test can only confirm the diagnosis

Approximately 5.2 million Americans have Alzheimer’s disease or some other form of dementia. That number is expected to rise to 13.8 million by 2050. Typically the disease isn’t diagnosed until a mental status exam or doctors rule out other diseases that cause dementia-like symptoms. (5)

Stamps says, “At the moment, we can use this test to confirm diagnosis, but we plan to study patients with mild cognitive impairment to see if this test might be used to predict which patients are going to get Alzheimer’s disease.” (3)

In the YouTube video, Stamps also explained, “If we can catch it at that earlier stage, we can start treatment more aggressively at that earlier stage, and you can prevent a lot of the progression.” (4)

Sources for this article include:

(1) www.alzheimers.org.uk
(2) www.jns-journal.com
(3) news.ufl.edu
(4) www.youtube.com
(5) www.cbsnews.com

Image source: post.health.ufl.edu