Abstract
BackgroundOlfactory dysfunction is present in a large proportion of patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) upon diagnosis. However, its progression over time has been poorly investigated. The few available longitudinal studies lack control groups or MRI data. ObjectiveTo investigate the olfactory changes and their structural correlates in non-demented PD over a four-year follow-up. MethodsWe assessed olfactory function in a sample of 25 PD patients and 24 normal controls of similar age using the University of Pennsylvania Smell Identification test (UPSIT). Structural magnetic resonance imaging data, obtained with a 3-T Siemens Trio scanner, were analyzed using FreeSurfer software. ResultsAnalysis of variance showed significant group (F = 53.882; P < 0.001) and time (F = 6.203; P = 0.016) effects, but the group-by-time interaction was not statistically significant. UPSIT performance declined ≥1.5 standard deviations in 5 controls and 7 patients. Change in UPSIT scores of patients correlated positively with volume change in the left putamen, right thalamus, and right caudate nucleus. ConclusionOlfactory loss over time in PD and controls is similar, but we have observed significant correlation between this loss and basal ganglia volumes only in patients.
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