Parkinson's Disease Research Today is a free monthly online journal that collates and summarizes the latest research about Parkinson's Disease, including details on symptoms, treatment, genetics, medication.

Olfactory loss may be a first sign of idiopathic Parkinson's disease.

Haehner A, Hummel T, Hummel C, Sommer U, Junghanns S, Reichmann H

Department of Neurology, University of Dresden Medical School, Germany.

Recent studies support the idea of olfactory dysfunction as a very early sign of idiopathic Parkinson's disease (IPD). Aim of the present study was to clinically follow-up patients with idiopathic hyposmia to find out the percentage of patients developing IPD after 4 years time. At baseline, olfactory tests had been combined with transcranial sonography of the substantia nigra and (123)I-FP-CIT SPECT imaging. At the present neurological examination, 7% of the individuals with idiopathic hyposmia had developed clinical IPD. Altogether, 13% presented with abnormalities of the motor system. Our data suggest that a combination of olfactory testing and other tests may constitute a screening tool for the risk to develop IPD.

Published 1 May 2007 in Mov Disord, 22(6): 839-42.
Full-text of this article is available online (may require subscription).

© 2004-2008 Parkinson's Disease Research Today. All Rights Reserved.