Olfactory dysfunction and extent of white matter abnormalities in multiple sclerosis: a clinical and MR study

Abstract

Our findings show, in MS patients with stable neurological impairment and no recent disease exacerbation, a correlation between smell loss and the lesion load in the regions of the brain involved in olfaction and support the theory that the extent and severity of MRI abnormalities in specific brain regions are related to the presence of selective neurologic and neuropsychologic impairment.

Olfactory alterations in patients with multiple sclerosis

“…When analyzing the results, a patient with EDSS above 4 had 5.2 times the increased risk of olfactory alteration, which is consistent with other studies. Caminiti et al 7 and Silva et al 6 showed that olfactory dysfunction was correlated with higher EDSS scores, and a longer duration of disease, corroborating previous studies in which the olfactory dysfunction correlates directly to the level of disability 8,9,11,17 . Considering the relationship between the time of diagnosis and olfactory alteration, this study showed that patients with an abnormal test had a longer duration since diagnosis (p = 0.031), an average of 119 months, and that the older the patient, the greater the risk of olfactory alteration, as described by Silva et al 6 .…”

Olfactory function in patients with multiple sclerosis: A diffusion tensor imaging study

“…Some studies described a correlation between impaired olfactory function and the lesion load in cerebral MRI scans of MS patients [26,27]. A recent study concluded that olfactory T is impaired in early, active multiple sclerosis, whereas I is impaired in patients with longer disease duration and during the chronic phase of disease [28].…”

Tract-based spatial statistics of the olfactory brain in patients with multiple sclerosis

“…It has been reported that the frequency of odour identification impairment was higher for patients with secondary progressive than relapsing-remitting or primary progressive courses [9]. Previous studies indicate that impaired olfactory function correlates with the lesion load in the olfactory brain [10][11][12][13].…”