Estimating Brain Atrophy with Olfactory Testing

A study conducted by Shuichi Sato et al., in collaboration with Tohoku University was published in the Scientific Reports.

Dementia is a major social issue, and its early detection is crucial. Generally, there is a time lag between brain atrophy and cognitive decline, making it difficult to accurately assess brain atrophy using only cognitive function tests.

In this study, we analyzed data from approximately 1,500 individuals, including olfactory tests, cognitive function tests, and brain MRI^*1 scans, to investigate methods for improving the accuracy of estimating atrophy in memory-related brain regions. The results suggested that adding an olfactory test with just two types of odors to the cognitive function test could be useful for improving the accuracy of estimating gray matter atrophy in the hippocampus and amygdala, especially in individuals aged 65 and older. These findings are expected to contribute to the development of early detection technologies for cognitive impairment through simple tests.

This study was conducted by adding our original olfactory test with three odor intensity levels to the health survey cohort of the Tohoku Medical Megabank at Tohoku University.

^*1：Magnetic Resonance Imaging

Title: Association of Olfactory and Cognitive Function Test Scores with Hippocampal and Amygdalar Grey Matter Volume: a Cross-sectional Study
Authors: Sato, S., Imaeda, T., Mugikura, S., Mori, N., Takanashi, M., Hayakawa, K., Saito, T., Taira, M., Narita, A., Kogure, M., Chiba, I., Hatanaka, R., Nakaya, K., Kanno, I., Ishiwata, R., Nakamura, T., Motoike, IN., Nakaya, N., Koshiba, S., Kinoshita, K., Kuriyama, S., Ogishima, S., Nagami, F., Fuse, N., Hozawa, A.
Journal Name: Scientific Reports
Published: August 19, 2024
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-69726-4