Parkinsonism & related disorders
-
Parkinsonism Relat. Disord. · May 2017
Olfactory dysfunction and dementia in newly diagnosed patients with Parkinson's disease.
Studies report that up to 90% of patients with idiopathic Parkinson's disease (PD) have olfactory dysfunction (hyposmia). Hyposmia has also been connected to cognitive impairment and dementia in PD, but no studies of newly diagnosed patients followed longer than three years exists. The present study investigates the prevalence of olfactory dysfunction at PD diagnosis, how it evolves over time and whether hyposmia increases the risk of dementia in Parkinson's disease. ⋯ Olfactory dysfunction was common at the time of PD diagnosis and increased the risk of dementia up to ten years after PD diagnosis regardless of baseline cognitive function. Normal olfaction together with normal cognition at baseline predicted a benign cognitive course up to ten years after diagnosis.