Report: Failing Sense Of Smell Might Be Associated With Declining Memory Skills

KYW Medical Reports Sponsored By Independence Blue Cross

By Dr. Brian McDonough, Medical Editor

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- It is a connection that not many people would make, but according to a report on the Journal of the American Medical Association Neurology Edition a failing sense of smell might be associated with declining memory skills as we get older.

In fact the researchers at the Mayo Clinic go as far as saying that a poor sense of smell was linked to the start of Alzheimer's Disease. The Mayo study looked at more than 1,600 adults in their 70s and 80s and tested their ability to identify common smells, such as banana and smoke. The researchers also administered mental skill tests. Those with the worst sense of smell were twice as likely to begin having mild memory problems as the study went on.

More research is needed and it is underway but someday a smell test might be used to predict potential memory issues.