Lang C J G, Leuschner T, Ulrich K, Stössel C, Heckmann J G, Hummel T
Neurological Unit, University of Erlangen-Nuremberg, Germany.
J Neurol Sci. 2006 Oct 25;248(1-2):177-84. doi: 10.1016/j.jns.2006.05.020. Epub 2006 Jun 12.
Like with many sensory abilities a reduction of taste and smell occurs during aging. Since there are hints to an additional reduction in dementing diseases, we assessed 52 patients, 26 women and 26 men, who were presented to a memory clinic, using the Sniffin' Sticks, Whole Mouth and Taste Strip Tests. While smoking, alcohol consumption, intake of drugs and sex exerted only minor impact, age and the severity of cognitive impairment were of major importance. There was a moderate but significant correlation between the severity of dementia, taste and smell, even if the age effect was partialled out. Notably, patients with Parkinson syndrome showed worse taste and smell abilities than those without. Here the differences were indeed marked enough to play a possible role in making the diagnosis. This exploratory study confirms a mild reduction of gustatory function in dementing diseases over and beyond that of normal aging which--in addition to a reduction of smell--seems to be especially marked in Parkinson syndromes.
与许多感官能力一样，味觉和嗅觉在衰老过程中会减退。由于有迹象表明在痴呆疾病中会进一步减退，我们使用嗅觉棒、全口味觉和味觉试纸测试对52名患者（26名女性和26名男性）进行了评估，这些患者均前往记忆诊所就诊。虽然吸烟、饮酒、药物摄入和性别仅产生轻微影响，但年龄和认知障碍的严重程度至关重要。即使排除年龄因素，痴呆的严重程度与味觉和嗅觉之间仍存在中度但显著的相关性。值得注意的是，帕金森综合征患者的味觉和嗅觉能力比无该综合征的患者更差。此处的差异确实足够明显，可能在诊断中发挥作用。这项探索性研究证实，痴呆疾病中的味觉功能减退程度轻微，超出了正常衰老的范围，除了嗅觉减退外，在帕金森综合征中似乎尤为明显。
