Does Ability to Identify Odors Differ Among Clinical Subtypes of Parkinson's Disease?

Abstract

Objective: Parkinson's disease (PD) is characterized by motor dysfunction, and is also a non-motor disorder. Olfactory dysfunction (OD) is a non-motor symptom in PD. In this study, we aimed to investigate whether OD varies among subtypes of PD. Material and Method: Patients comprised 28 patients with idiopathic PD (23 male and 5 female) with a mean age of 64.96 perpendicular to 7.49 years. The patients were divided into tremor-dominant type (TDT), akinetic-rigid type (ART) and mixed type (MT) by means of part III of Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale. Patients were asked whether they had a relative with tremor or PD. University of Pennsylvania Smell Identification Test-40 (UPSIT-40) was used to test olfactory function. Patients with any factor that may influence olfactory function were excluded. Results: Fourteen patients were classified as TDT, 12 as ART, and 2 as MT. There were no significant differences in mean age, UPDRS part III, and UPDRS total scores. The UPSIT scores were the highest in the MT group and lowest in the ART group, but there was no statistically significant difference. Discussion: Our results do not prove a difference in OD between subtypes of PD, but suggest that ART patients might have a poor ability to identify odors.