Detecting Alzheimer's disease may soon be as easy as testing a patient's sense of smell.


As part of research into methods for early diagnosis of the degenerative brain disease, researchers in Florida devised an Alzheimer's smell test[1] capable of confirming an AD diagnosis. The key ingredient? Peanut butter.


Led by Jennifer Stamps, a graduate student at the University of Florida, the team conducted a small pilot study and tested subjects' smell sensitivity in each nostril while they had their eyes, mouth and opposite nostril closed. Using a ruler, Stamps measured the distance at which patients were able to detect the odor of peanut butter[2] on an exhale. After a 90-second break, the alternate nostril was tested.


At the time of the clinical tests, researchers were unaware of whether subjects had been diagnosed with Alzheimer's -- the most common form of dementia -- or with another type of mental deterioration. However, once they compared the metric measurements with subjects' levels of cognitive impairment, the results were striking.


According to the research, recently published in the Journal of the Neurological Sciences, patients in the early stages of Alzheimer's demonstrated a significant difference between their left and right nostrils[3] in their ability to smell the open container of peanut butter. For this group, the sense of smell in the left nostril was severely impaired; in order to smell the peanut butter through their left side, the container had to be an average of 10 centimeters closer to the nose than it was on the right side.


During testing, subjects with other types of cognitive impairment not related to Alzheimer's either did not show this disparity between nostrils, or their right nostril was the one that was impaired.


In the past, loss of smell has been linked to Alzheimer's[4] , an incurable disease that currently affects 5.2 million Americans[5] .


While diagnosis of the disease can be difficult[6] -- especially in the early stages, when detection is most crucial to prevent memory damage -- a growing body of research suggests that a smell test could be used[7] to identify this warning sign.


Stamps came up with the idea to create an Alzheimer's smell test in an attempt to design an easy and cost-effective method to detect the disorder. Yet, she admits, the peanut butter test in its current form has limitations.


"At the moment, we can use this test to confirm diagnosis,” Stamps said in a statement released by the university[8] . "But we plan to study patients with mild cognitive impairment to see if this test might be used to predict which patients are going to get Alzheimer’s disease."



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    Researchers found that the people who were the least active each day -- in the bottom 10th percentile in the study -- were two times more likely to go on to develop Alzheimer's disease, compared with people who were in the top 10th percentile for daily activity.
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    The results were even more marked when evaluating the intensity of physical activity: Those who were in the bottom 10th percentile for physical activity intensity were three times more likely to develop Alzheimer's, compared with those in the top 10th percentile.




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    HuffPost Canada Living <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2012/04/02/benefits-of-being-bilingual_n_1396671.html" target="_hplink">explains why</a>:
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    <blockquote>The anticipation of having to speak one of two language at any given time forces the brain to run continually, and results in an experience that helps avoid a mental conflict between languages.</blockquote>
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    "It is rather like a reserve tank in a car. When you run out of fuel, you can keep going for longer because there is a bit more in the safety tank," study researcher Dr. Ellen Bialystok <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2011/feb/18/bilingual-alzheimers-brain-power-multitasking" target="_hplink">told <em>The Guardian</em></a>.




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    A previous study in the journal <em>Annals of Indian Academy of Neurology</em> discussed the possible <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2781139/" target="_hplink">effects of curcumin on Alzheimer's</a>. Researchers wrote:
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    <blockquote>Due to various effects of curcumin, such as decreased Beta-amyloid plaques, delayed degradation of neurons, metal-chelation, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant and decreased microglia formation, the overall memory in patients with AD has improved.</blockquote>




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    Researchers from the University of Erlangen conducted a study in dementia patients in nursing homes, and had the study participants do exercises like bowling and solving puzzles together, the Press Association reported. They also spent some time doing things like woodwork and gardening.
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    The researchers found that all of these activities seemed to have the same effect on the study participants' <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2011/12/01/puzzles-and-exercise-help-beat-dementia-symptoms_n_1122502.html" target="_hplink">brain functioning</a>, compared with the typical dementia medication, the Press Association reported.
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    Another recent study in the journal <em>Archives of Neurology</em> showed that life-long reading and game-playing could <a href="http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=153901" target="_hplink">decrease beta amyloid levels</a> in the brain, which are considered a "hallmark of the condition," MedicineNet reported.
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    "Staying cognitively active over the lifetime may reduce the risk of Alzheimer's by preventing the accumulation of Alzheimer's-related pathology," study researcher Susan Landau, a research scientist at the Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute at the University of California, Berkeley, <a href="http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=153901" target="_hplink">told MedicineNet</a>.




  • Walk!


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    The 2009 study in <em>Neurology</em> included 299 people whose average age was 78. Researchers found that people who walked the most in the study -- six to nine miles a week -- had a halved risk of developing the brain problems as people who walked the least in the study, according to BBC News.
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    Similarly, a 2007 study that also appeared in the journal <em>Neurology</em> showed that people age 65 and older who regularly exercise have a <a href="http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2007-12/aaon-wam121107.php" target="_hplink">decreased risk of vascular dementia</a>. That study included 749 people.




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    Researchers from Columbia University Medical Center found that eating a <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/05/06/omega-3-fatty-acids-alzheimers-memory-brain_n_1475806.html" target="_hplink">diet high in omega-3 fatty acids</a> -- such as fish, nuts and chicken -- is linked with lower levels of of beta-amyloid protein, which is linked with Alzheimer's disease.
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    The study, published in the journal Neurology, included 1,219 people age 65 and older who didn't have dementia. The researchers found that the higher their consumption of the omega-3 fatty acids, the lower the beta-amyloid in the blood.




  • Drink Green Tea


    That refreshing green brew could have powers against Alzheimer's disease, according to research from Newcastle University.
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    WebMD reported that when <a href="http://www.webmd.com/alzheimers/news/20110106/green-tea-may-help-prevent-alzheimers-disease" target="_hplink">green tea is digested</a>, the released compounds have protective effects against Alzheimer's.
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    "When green tea is digested by enzymes in the gut, the resulting chemicals are actually more effective against key triggers of Alzheimer's development than the undigested form of the tea," study researcher Ed Okello <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2011/jan/06/green-tea-alzheimers-cancer" target="_hplink">told <em>The Guardian</em></a>.




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