Diagnose Early Alzheimer’s via this Deteriorating Sense

Few people know that one of your five senses deteriorates even before you start developing mild cognitive impairment and certainly long before you develop Alzheimer’s disease.

This means that you can test yourself to see whether you are likely to develop cognitive impairment soon. The earlier you get yourself diagnosed, the bigger the contribution that a few lifestyle changes can make to halt the progression of the disease.

Researchers at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester have just discovered that a worsening sense of smell accompanies mild cognitive impairment (MCI), and deteriorates further as the MCI becomes full-blown Alzheimer’s disease related dementia.

They identified 1,430 cognitively normal elderly people who wanted to participate in the study between 2004 and 2010. The gave them a smell test in which they had to identify banana, chocolate, cinnamon, lemon, onion, pineapple, gasoline, paint thinner, rose, soap, smoke, and turpentine.

As the participants aged further, they visited them every 15 months between 2010 and 2014 to assess their cognitive abilities. During these four years, there were 250 new cases of MCI, and they happened to be the same people who performed reasonably poorly on the smell test. There were also 64 people who progressed from MCI to Alzheimer’s dementia, and they happened to be the same people who achieved the worst scores on the smell test.

This shows clearly that an impaired sense of smell is an early indication of mild cognitive impairment, and that an even more severely impaired sense of smell predicts if MCI will deteriorate to Alzheimer’s dementia.

This study is useful because it identifies a cheaper and simpler method whereby people at severe risk of cognitive impairment and Alzheimer’s disease can be flagged for immediate intervention.

The earlier it can be diagnosed, the sooner you can begin to take action and the longer the you will be able to remain close to your current level of cognitive functioning.

The Brief Smell Identification Test, or B-SIT test, is a test kit and manual that anyone can buy for less than $50. It is probably better if it is administered in a scientific environment where the person who presents the smell cards do not know what they are, just in case the test presenter accidentally gives the test taker subtle cues. But there is no reason why it cannot be conducted at home.

In fact, the cards are in opaque covers, so if you can keep them all neatly in the same order in which you smell them, you can even take the test.

These tests, however, may not be available everywhere. Ask your local pharmacy or your doctor. Even if it is not available there, pharmacists may be able to order it for you. Or, do a quick Internet search for “B-SIT test.”

Now, if you’re beginning to feel your brain is not functioning 100%, what should you do?

Here is a simple technique that boosts your brain with energy and drastically improves cognitive function, from the comfort of your home…