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PENNSYLVANIA: U. Study Links Memory Loss To Smell By Ted Ross March 23, 2004 Concrete steps toward characterizing Alzheimer's disease -- a degenerative memory disorder that is prevalent in the elderly and is particularly hard to diagnose -- have recently been made at the School of Medicine. A study conducted recently found that the "tau" protein is likely associated with smell loss connected to Alzheimer's and other diseases. "No test currently exists for the detection of Alzheimer's disease," according to a Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania press release. "A definitive diagnosis is only confirmed upon death." Before this study was conducted, researchers and experts acknowledged that loss of smell was associated with neurological degenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases. However, this study may explain "why smell loss is associated with neurodegenerative disorders" by linking the olfactory dysfunction to an excess of the tau protein, said Head Researcher and Director of the Penn Smell and Taste Center Richard Doty. Researchers went about discovering this relationship through tests regarding smell with genetically engineered mice. Mice with an excess of the tau protein and a control group of normal mice were introduced to a series of new smells, including peppermint or vanilla. The results showed that the genetically engineered mice experienced loss of smell and did not react to the new scents, while the control group did. "These experiments are part and parcel to better understanding the physical causes of such neurodegenerative diseases," Doty said of this and other experiments in a HUP press release. Doty now plans on examining the first appearance of smell loss relative to levels of the tau protein, as well as other proteins and combinations of proteins that may have an effect on the observed olfactory dysfunction. There is no cure for Alzheimer's disease, which afflicts 10 percent of people over 65 and almost half of those over 85. There are nearly 4 million people nationwide that suffer from Alzheimer's disease. SOURCE: Daily Pennsylvanian, PA http://www.dailypennsylvanian.com/vnews/display.v/ART/405ff34ea106a * * * ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto:[log in to unmask] In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn