難辨氣味 老人癡呆先兆

難辨氣味 老人癡呆先兆（2007年7月4日）Alzheimer's omen hard to tell different smell

美國有研究指出，人們若難以分辨常有氣味如洋、檸檬、香蕉，可能是患上老人癡呆的先兆。（資料圖片）

【明報專訊】美國有研究指出，若人們難以分辨常有氣味，可能是患上老人癡呆的先兆。該發現有助科學家尋找減慢或停止老人癡呆症惡化的方法，阻止記憶不斷流失。

American research indicates that if people often difficult to distinguish smells may be suffering from Alzheimer's indication. The finding will help scientists find slow down or stop Alzheimer's disease getting worse, prevent the memory wastage.

單在美國就有超過500萬名病人患上老人癡呆這種「不治之症」。美國芝加哥Rush University Medical Center進行研究，讓近600名年齡介乎54至90歲的人辨別12種常有氣味，當中包括洋、檸檬、香蕉及肉桂等，並以選擇題方式讓他們將嗅到的氣味選出。

In the United States alone, more than 5 million patients suffering from Alzheimer's "incurable." Chicago Rush University Medical Center study. nearly 600 aged between 54 to 90 years of age to identify 12 species often smells, including onion, lemons, banana and cinnamon, and in multiple-choice form so that they will smell the odor elected.

表現最佳的四分之一人能全部辨出或只選錯其中1種氣味，有一半參加者表現一般，能辨出至少9種氣味，表現較差的四分之一人，只能辨出8種或少於8種氣味。

The best quarter Out of all the people or only one of them chose the wrong kinds of odors, and half of the participants were in general. can be detected at least nine types of odor, poor performance of the quarter, only eight Out of the eight or less odor.

癡呆風險高五成

這批參加者由97年開始參與研究，其後每年一次，已進行5年。研究發現約三分之一人出現輕微的記憶及認知受損問題。該項研究已於周一出版的《一般精神醫學檔案雜誌》刊出，文章亦指出，嗅覺辨識能力低於水平的人，患老人癡呆症的危機比高於水平的人高五成。

High risk of dementia by 50% of these participants from the 97 participating in the study and then, once a year, for five years already. Research found that about one-third of mild cognitive impairment and memory problems. The study was published Monday on the "general spirit of the medical journal Archives," published, the article also pointed out that Olfactory identification ability of people below the level of suffering from Alzheimer's disease was higher than that of the crisis of the high level of 50%.

法新社／美聯社