Peanut butter olfactory test

[Gilgamesh]

Swamped with a deadline, but, finally in a household with peanut butter, I decided to do the test we've all probably heard about [1].

I think my left nostril was a bit stuffed up, so I consider the results highly tentative (and, obviously, the sample size of the study was so small, the test can't be considered robust). I sure hope they are, because the results were: I have Alzheimer's.

But I'm going to repeat it a few times, when I'm sure both nostrils are clear.

GB

[1] http://www.jns-journal.com/article/S002 ... 0/abstract [Edit to fix failed automatic url-encoding. Thanks to James for pointing out the error.]

[lol]

Peanut butter is for eating, not sniffing. You are not going to get AD.

[Julie G]

I'm too afraid to even try this silly test And, G is brave enough to check his amyloid plaque

[James]

You link didn't code correctly since part of the text got cut off. Here's a working link to avoid copy+paste.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23927938

I am intrigued. Here are some interesting bits from the full-text.

Uni-rhinal odor detection and cognitive performance
Since the olfactory cortex is anatomically proximal to the areas important for episodic memory [8], [9], [10], [11] and [12], we posited that odor detection might be more highly correlated with episodic memory than with other cognitive measures. We found significant positive correlations between the left nostril odor detection distance and tests that rely on left hemisphere functions like language and calculation (Table 1). The right nostril odor detection distance did not correlate with any of the cognitive measures we analyzed.

Systematic studies of olfactory function for diagnostic purposes found AD to be positively associated with olfactory dysfunction. Unfortunately, because of confounding variables of olfactory dysfunction and the fact that olfactory dysfunction occurs with many neurological disorders associated with dementia [32], [33], [34], [35], [36], [37], [38] and [39], the predictive value of olfactory testing for AD was deemed limited [38], [39] and [40]. The odor detection test used in most studies has been a threshold task that requires more time than a clinic visit allows and informs of the lowest concentration the odor can be detected, not the farthest distance. No study has combined a unirhinal method with a stimulus that can solely be detected by the olfactory nerve, and none have measured the distance of odor detection. Previous findings that in AD, odor identification correlated more with neuropsychological tests and was effected earlier than olfactory detection thresholds tested bi-rhinally [13], [32], [38], [39] and [41], are consistent with our finding that odor detection in the right nostril of early to moderate AD patients is not different from cognitively normal controls. Also, we looked at several of the neuropsychological tests that are often associated with AD and found them to be correlated with the odor detection distance of the left nostril and not the right.

[Gilgamesh]

You link didn't code correctly since part of the text got cut off. Here's a working link to avoid copy+paste.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23927938

Don't blame me; it's the buggy forum software. (It automatically takes a right paren., without looking at broader context, as the end of the URL. Still, I should have noticed that! Thanks for the improved link. [Though I'll edit and "hard code" my link now.])

Yes, I just got the full paper. Very intriguing indeed! Another trial is underway with a much larger sample size, and I assume we'll have the results soon. (It's not like the experimental protocol is complicated or requires much time.)

I've written to the researchers, and if they write back with pre-publication results, I'll certainly post them here.

Julie and lol: responses to you in "Case histories".

GB