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. 2022 Jul;43(7):4193-4201.
doi: 10.1007/s10072-022-05952-w. Epub 2022 Feb 15.

Olfactory dysfunction is associated with motor function only in tremor-dominant Parkinson's disease

Fardin Nabizadeh  1   2 , Kasra Pirahesh  3 , Elham Khalili  4   5
Affiliations

Olfactory dysfunction is associated with motor function only in tremor-dominant Parkinson's disease

Fardin Nabizadeh et al. Neurol Sci. 2022 Jul.

Abstract

Background: The prevalence of olfactory impairment in patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) is 50-90%, and therefore, olfactory dysfunction is one of the most prevalent non-motor symptoms (NMSs) in patients with PD. Numerous studies have evaluated the association between motor and non-motor symptoms and olfactory dysfunction in PD.

Aim: In this study, we investigated the relationship between olfactory dysfunction, which is measured using the UPSIT test, with other motor and non-motor symptoms separately in three motor subtypes of PD, including tremor dominant (TD), postural instability and gait difficulty (PIGD), and indeterminate and healthy subjects.

Methods: We recruited 487 early-stage PD patients (43 PIGD, 406 TD, and 38 indeterminate) and healthy controls (HCs) (n = 197) from the Parkinson Progression Markers Initiative (PPMI). All participants completed motor and non-motor tests at baseline visit and after 4 years of follow-up. Subjects underwent common PD scaling tests.

Results: Olfactory dysfunction was significantly correlated with declined motor functions only in the TD subtype. Also, significant correlations were noticed between olfactory dysfunction and speed-attention processing and executive function in the HCs as well. Finally, no significant or meaningful association was observed in the PIGD and indeterminate subtype. Anosmia and hyposmia subjects in the TD group had the worse motor and non-motor scores compared to normosmia subjects after 4 years.

Conclusion: Olfactory dysfunction was significantly correlated with declined motor functions in the TD subtype. This is indicating that olfactory dysfunction may be an early motor and non-motor biomarker only in the TD subtype. However, it is possible that the involvement of olfactory function in other subtypes is not strong enough to make it a useful marker of diseases progression.

Keywords: Motor function; Olfactory dysfunction; Parkinson’s disease.

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