Neurology
HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS
QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced]


     

This Article
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Correspondence:
Submit a response
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me when Correspondence are posted
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow reprints & permissions
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Doty, R.L.
Right arrow Articles by Kurland, L.T.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Doty, R.L.
Right arrow Articles by Kurland, L.T.
NEUROLOGY 1991;41:77-80
© 1991 American Academy of Neurology

Odor identification deficit of the parkinsonism-dementia complex of Guam

Equivalence to that of Alzheimer's and idiopathic Parkinson's disease

R.L. Doty, PhD, D.P. Perl, MD, J.C. Steele, MD, K.M. Chen, MD, J.D. Pierce, Jr., PhD, P. Reyes, MD and L.T. Kurland, MD, Dr PH

From the Smell and Taste Center, Department of Otorhinolaryngology and Head and Neck Surgery (Drs. Doty and Pierce), and Department of Physiology, School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia (Dr. Doty); Neuropathology Division, Mount Sinai Medical Center, New York (Dr. Perl); Guam Memorial Hospital, Tamunging, Guam (Drs. Steele and Chen); Department of Neurology and Pathology, Jeffemn Medical College, Thomas Jefferson University, Phidelphia, Pennsylvania (Dr. Reyea); and Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota (Dr. Kurland).

Address correspondence and reprint requests to Dr. Richard L. Doty, Director, Smell and Taste Center, 5 Ravdin Institute, Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, 3400 SPNW Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104.

Abstract.

Olfactory dysfunction is among the first signs of Alzheimer's disease (AD), idiopathic Parkinson's disease (PD), and the parkinsonism-dementia complex (PDC) of Guam. We have recently demonstrated that the odor identification and detection deficits of patients with PD are equivalent to those of patients with mild AD when subtle differences in cognitive function are statistically controlled for by analysis of covariance. In contrast, patients with progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP) and patients with l-methyl-4-phenyl-l,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP)-induced parkinsonism evidence olfactory function much more similar to that of normal controls. In the present study, we administered the University of Pennsylvania Smell Identification Test and the Picture Identification Test to 24 patients with early signs of the PDC of Guam and statistically compared their test scores to those of 24 early-stage AD and 24 early-stage PD patients of similar age and gender from the United States mainland. Although the PDC group evidenced slightly more difficulty in identifying pictures than did the other 2 groups, the odor identification deficit associated with this disorder was of the same magnitude as that observed in AD and PD, suggesting that olfactory testing cannot be used to distinguish among these 3 diseases and that the olfactory dysfunction of these disorders may reflect a common neurologic substrate.

Footnotes

Supported by grant R01AG 08148 from the National Institute on Aging and grant P01 DC 00161 from the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders.






HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS
Copyright © 1991 by AAN Enterprises, Inc.