- Alzheimer’s disease can eventually lead to dementia, which is incurable
- Research shows that smell recognition and memory are key to early detection
- Early detection can save thousands of dollars and improve quality of life
Alzheimer’s is a neurodegenerative disease – meaning that it causes someone to lose cognitive abilities over time.
It also eventually leads to dementia, which is a group of symptoms including memory loss and lack of cognitive functions.
Once you have dementia, it can be treated but not cured.
That’s why early detection for Alzheimer’s is so important.
And recently, researchers have found that there’s a way to detect Alzheimer’s disease pretty early on – and it can be done in the shower.
University of Chicago researchers found that a key aspect of Alzheimer’s is the loss of smell, paired with a loss of memory.
So if you lose the ability to smell things that are part of daily, regular routines, this can mean you might be showing early symptoms of Alzheimer’s.
They found that one major example of this could be not recognizing the smell of your everyday body wash while in the shower.
Because Alzheimer’s disease is associated with smell recognition and memory, not being able to smell your daily body wash can be a symptom (stock image)
The study honed in on olfactory senses – also known as smell – and their connection to memory.
Essentially, they discovered that smell recognition and memory are more closely related than they had previously thought.
Because Alzheimer’s and dementia affect the brain and it’s functions, smell (something that’s made possible because of the brain) is affected as well.
Using this knowledge, these researchers – as well as others in the field – are hoping to be able to develop smell-related tests that can help with early-detection of Alzheimer’s.
But it’s important to remember that smelling your daily shower gel less distinctly doesn’t immediately equate to an Alzheimer’s diagnosis.
Smell is just one of the senses that diminishes with old age.
So if you do notice that you’re usually strong-scented body wash has become faint over time, it doesn’t mean you should immediately go into panic mode.
But it does mean that you might want to take a trip to the doctor’s office to see what’s going on.
Early detection of Alzheimer’s disease can save families thousands of dollars (stock image)
Not only can early detection save families thousands of dollars, but it can also allow for better preparation of resources for the patient.
This can mean a much higher potential of a better quality of life – and possibly even many more years of survival with the disease.
Other early symptoms to watch out for include issues with memory, trouble with language, and difficulty in problem-solving.
But the only way to be truly diagnosed is to have a brain scan performed.
It’s important to work with your healthcare provider to find a treatment option that works for you.
