(NewsNation) — Boston neurology researchers have created a test that could allow patients to detect Alzheimer’s at home with a series of sniffs.
The test, developed by Mass General Brigham neurology researchers, tests a person’s smell recognition and recall in connection to neurodegenerative diseases.
Results of the Aromha Brain Health Test found that olfactory dysfunction — a loss of smell or the ability to identify and remember smells — increased with age, and was often worse among those with mild cognitive impairment.
Results were consistent across English and Spanish speakers, and “participants performed the test equally successfully regardless of whether they were observed by a research assistant.”
“Our goal has been to develop and validate a cost-effective, non-invasive test that can be performed at home, helping to set the stage for advancing research and treatment for Alzheimer’s,” the study’s senior author, Mark Albers, wrote.
Board certified neurologist Dr. Tom Pitts tells “Morning in America” the test is “very promising” for early Alzheimer’s detection.
Pitts said an olfactory quiz is less invasive and more accessible than other methods like PET scans, lumbar punctures or blood tests.
By having patients sniff odor labels, identify scents and recall what they’d previously smelled, researchers are “hijacking the olfactory pathway, which has direct access to some of the first and most heavily hit areas of Alzheimer’s,” Pitts said.
Though there could be potential shortcomings with confounding variables — how the test is conducted at home and if there are any strong smells there — Pitts is confident the test “could provide early detection and accuracy in the vast majority of people.”
Alzheimer’s is consistently one of the top causes of death among older adults in the United States. In 2021, it was the fifth-leading cause of death, though experts predict it is responsible for more deaths than actually reported, according to data compiled by the Alzheimer’s Association.
