Odour identification in frontotemporal lobar degeneration.
Little information is available concerning olfactory processing in frontotemporal lobar degeneration (FTLD). We undertook a case-control study of olfactory processing in three male patients fulfilling clinical criteria for FTLD. Odour identification (semantic analysis) and odour discrimination (perceptual analysis) were investigated using tests adapted from the University of Pennsylvania Smell Identification Test. General neuropsychometry and structural volumetric brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) were also performed. The three patients with FTLD exhibited a disorder of olfactory processing with the characteristics of a predominantly semantic (odour identification) deficit. This olfactory deficit was more prominent in patients with greater involvement of the temporal lobes on MRI. Central deficits of odour identification may be more common in FTLD than previously recognised, and these deficits may assist in clinical characterisation.
Rami
Lorena
L
Dementia Research Centre, Institute of Neurology, London, WC1N 3BG, UK.
Loy
Clement T
CT
Hailstone
Julia
J
Warren
Jason D
JD
D000368:Aged; D003704:Dementia / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology*; D004192:Discrimination, Psychological / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D009812:Odorants; D012903:Smell / Q000502:physiology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires