CoBteK lab (Cognition Behavior and Technology), Université Cote d'Azur, Nice, France.
Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Nice, Service Clinique Gériatrique du Cerveau et du Mouvement, Centre Mémoire Ressources et Recherche, Université Côte d'Azur, Nice, France.
PLoS One. 2022 Apr 4;17(4):e0265764. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0265764. eCollection 2022.
Olfactory identification disorder is regarded as an early marker of Alzheimer's disease (AD) and of similar diagnostic significance of biological or cognitive markers. Premature damage of the entorhinal olfactory cortex, the hippocampus and the orbitofrontal cortex characterize AD and suggest a specific impairment of olfactory identification. The use of psychophysical olfactory identification tests in clinical diagnostic practice is therefore strongly recommended, but not required. As these widespread tests are rarely used, an innovative test, adapted to this target group has been developed. It has been used and validated in a routine care protocol at different Memory Centers in France and in Quebec, Canada. A total of 157 participants were recruited: including 63 Alzheimer's patients and 94 healthy controls. The test was composed of 14 odorants diluted into 4 different concentrations. A computer interface generated randomization of 6 odors per participant and the automatic calculation of identification scores, of perceptual thresholds and of composite scores. All participants underwent a Mini Mental Scale Examination within the previous three months or on the same day of the olfactory test. The Alzheimer's patients had a score between 20 and 30 and healthy controls participants had a score above 28 without any loss of points on recalled items. The results show that our olfactory identification test is able to significantly differentiate Alzheimer's patients from healthy controls (p < 0.001), and to distinguish the French population tested from the Quebec population (p < 0.001). This study highlights an olfactory identification disorder as a target for early diagnosis of AD. Its cultural qualities make it a potential candidate for differentiated calibration between France and Quebec.
嗅觉识别障碍被认为是阿尔茨海默病 (AD) 的早期标志物，与生物或认知标志物具有相似的诊断意义。内嗅皮质、海马体和眶额皮质的过早损伤是 AD 的特征，表明嗅觉识别存在特定障碍。因此，强烈建议在临床诊断实践中使用心理物理学嗅觉识别测试，但并非必需。由于这些广泛使用的测试很少使用，因此开发了一种针对该目标群体的创新测试。它已在法国和加拿大魁北克的不同记忆中心的常规护理方案中使用和验证。共招募了 157 名参与者：包括 63 名阿尔茨海默病患者和 94 名健康对照者。该测试由 14 种气味剂组成，稀释为 4 种不同浓度。计算机界面为每个参与者生成 6 种气味的随机排列，并自动计算识别分数、感知阈值和综合分数。所有参与者均在嗅觉测试前三个月内或当天进行了 Mini 精神状态检查。阿尔茨海默病患者的得分在 20 到 30 之间，健康对照组参与者的得分高于 28，且没有回忆项目的分数损失。结果表明，我们的嗅觉识别测试能够显著区分阿尔茨海默病患者和健康对照组（p < 0.001），并区分测试的法国人群和魁北克人群（p < 0.001）。这项研究强调了嗅觉识别障碍作为 AD 早期诊断的一个目标。其文化品质使其成为法国和魁北克之间差异化校准的潜在候选者。
