title: Olfactory function and Parkinson's disease in Southern Brazil.
abstract: The idiopathic Parkinson disease (IPD) is traditionally diagnosed by motor signs, but non-motor symptoms and signs are frequent and may help in the clinical diagnosis.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate the olfactory function in Brazilian healthy subjects, patients with early-onset PD (EOPD) and late-onset PD (LOPD) using the Sniffin' Sticks odor-identification test (SST).
  
  
  METHODS
  We studied 70 patients with IPD (19 EOPD and 51 LOPD) and 70 controls matched for gender, age and years of schooling. Subjects with dementia and loss of smell for other reasons were excluded.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The SST showed a significant difference (p<0.001) between groups: control groups (12.0 + or - 0.3), EOPD (8.3 + or - 0.7), and LOPD (6.7 + or - 0.4) when the groups were adjusted for gender, age, disease duration, and years of schooling.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Both groups of IPD patients presented olfactory impairments, but those whose symptoms started before 45 years-old (EOPD) had better sense of smell than the LOPD patients.
authors.affiliation: Movement Disorders Outpatient Clinics, Santa Casa de Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil.
authors.forename: Ricardo
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Santin
authors.forename: Vicente Faraon
authors.initials: VF
authors.lastname: Fonseca
authors.forename: Cristina Birlen
authors.initials: CB
authors.lastname: Bleil
authors.forename: Carlos R M
authors.initials: CR
authors.lastname: Rieder
authors.forename: Arlete
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Hilbig
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D000857:Olfaction Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000209:etiology; D010300:Parkinson Disease / Q000150:complications*; D012016:Reference Values; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity