title: Olfactory function in Parkinson's Disease - effects of training.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Up to 90% of patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) exhibit olfactory dysfunction, but little is known about the effects of olfactory training. The study aim was to investigate whether the ability to identify olfactory stimuli can be improved by means of a brief training session. Furthermore, the impact of hyposmia on quality of life in PD was investigated by means of a questionnaire.
  
  
  METHODS
  Olfactory function was rated in 34 patients with PD and in 26 controls before and after a training session. An additional 20 patients with PD served as a control group and were tested twice without an intervening training session. Long-term effects were evaluated in a small subset of patients. Cognitive tests and DaT SPECT scans were performed.
  
  
  RESULTS
  We demonstrated significant same-day and long-term training effects in trained PD patients compared with non-trained PD patients. A slightly significant correlation was seen between the training effect and DaT putamen values, but not with cognitive test scores. Furthermore, patients with PD reported that hyposmia significantly decreased their quality of life.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Patients with PD improved the number of correctly identified odors in an olfactory test through a brief training session. Olfactory training may have potential in rehabilitation of patients with PD.
authors.affiliation: Department of Nuclear Medicine and PET Centre, Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus, Denmark.
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Knudsen
authors.affiliation: Unit for Psychooncology and Health Psychology, Department of Oncology, Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus, Denmark.|Department of Psychology and Behavioral Science, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Flensborg Damholdt
authors.affiliation: Centre of Functional Integrative Neuroscience, Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus, Denmark.
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Mouridsen
authors.affiliation: Department of Nuclear Medicine and PET Centre, Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus, Denmark.
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Borghammer
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D003071:Cognition; D004192:Discrimination, Psychological; D050483:Dopamine Plasma Membrane Transport Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D007858:Learning; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D000857:Olfaction Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology; D010300:Parkinson Disease / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000523:psychology* / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D011597:Psychomotor Performance; D011699:Putamen / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D011788:Quality of Life; D012677:Sensation; D012903:Smell; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D015899:Tomography, Emission-Computed, Single-Photon
chemical_list: D050483:Dopamine Plasma Membrane Transport Proteins
keywords: Parkinson's disease; hyposmia; olfaction; single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT); training effect