This Article Full Text (PDF) References Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Saved Citations Download to citation manager Request Permissions Request Reprints Add to My Marked Citations Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Citing Articles via Scopus Google Scholar Articles by Zorzon, M. Articles by Zivadinov, R. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Zorzon, M. Articles by Zivadinov, R. Social Bookmarking                         What's this?

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

Neurological Clinic, University of Trieste, Trieste, Italy

Maja Ukmar

Institute of Radiology, University of Trieste, Trieste, Italy

Luisa Monti Bragadin

Neurological Clinic, University of Trieste, Trieste, Italy

Francesca Zanier

Institute of Radiology, University of Trieste, Trieste, Italy

Rodolfo M Antonello

Neurological Clinic, University of Trieste, Trieste, Italy

Giuseppe Cazzato

Neurological Clinic, University of Trieste, Trieste, Italy

Robert Zivadinov

Neurological Clinic, University of Trieste, Trieste, Italy

Background: The relative contribution to the olfactory dysfunction of the lesions in the specific brain regions involved in olfaction compared with the lesions scattered all over the rest of the brain has not been fully clarified yet in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS). The concurrent use of Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) and a standardized test of odor identification ability now permits to study the relation between smell loss and the extent of white matter abnormalities. Methods: We tested the olfactory function of 40 patients with definite MS and of 40 age-sex- and smoking-habit-matched healthy controls by using the Cross Cultural Smell Identification Test. We measured also the lesion load on T₂-weighted images in the inferior-frontal and temporal lobes and in the rest of the brain in MS patients. Therefore, we tried to correlate measures of lesion load and smell test scores. Results: A robust correlation was demonstrated between MR measures of lesion load in the white matter of the olfactory brain region and smell loss (r=70.739, P50.0001). A significant relationship has been found even after taking potential confounding factors, such as sex, age, disease duration, disability, anxiety and depression, into account (r=70.90, P50.0001). Conclusions: 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.

Key Words: olfactory dysfunction • multiple sclerosis • magnetic resonance imaging

Multiple Sclerosis, Vol. 6, No. 6, 386-390 (2000)
DOI: 10.1177/135245850000600605


CiteULike    Complore    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    Twitter    What's this?