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Olfactory function in Parkinson's Disease – effects of training
Author(s) -
Knudsen K.,
Flensborg Damholdt M.,
Mouridsen K.,
Borghammer P.
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
acta neurologica scandinavica
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.967
H-Index - 95
eISSN - 1600-0404
pISSN - 0001-6314
DOI - 10.1111/ane.12406
Subject(s) - disease , parkinson's disease , medicine , neuroscience , olfactory system , physical medicine and rehabilitation , degenerative disease , psychology , central nervous system disease
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 .