Could Losing Your Sense of Smell Be an Early Sign of Dementia?

What would you think if food no longer smelled the way it used to, or the scent of flowers seemed to fade? Most of us would brush it off as just getting older. But recent research suggests this small change may deserve a second look. In April 2026, a research team at the Daegu Gyeongbuk Institute of Science and Technology (DGIST) in Korea published a study in Alzheimer's & Dementia. Analyzing brain tissue from donors at different stages of the disease, the team confirmed that the toxic proteins behind Alzheimer's — amyloid beta and tau — build up first in the olfactory bulb and olfactory cortex, the parts of the brain that detect and identify smells, before spreading elsewhere. It was the first study to explain, at the cellular level, why the sense of smell is damaged earliest. In other words, trouble smelling may appear years before memory problems do. Long before memory begins to slip, the nose may be sending an early signal. A team led by Dr. Davangere Devanand at Columbia University reached a similar conclusion. Following 647 participants in the Mayo Clinic Study of Aging for an average of eight years, they found that a simple test — identifying 12 common smells — combined with a brief cognitive exam predicted cognitive decline and progression to dementia about as well as costly PET brain scans. An important clue, it turns out, can come from something as simple as naming a smell. Of course, losing your sense of smell does not mean you have dementia. Far more common causes include colds, sinus problems, after-effects of COVID-19, smoking, and ordinary aging. Smell loss alone can never diagnose the disease. Still, if your sense of smell has changed and the change lasts, it is worth mentioning to an ear, nose, and throat doctor or a neurologist. Finding out whether the cause lies in the nose or somewhere else can bring real peace of mind. No elaborate test is needed to begin. At the dinner table, or on a walk past blooming flowers, quietly check whether your senses feel the same as before. Noticing the small signals your body sends may be the first step to protecting your health. References: Moon et al., Alzheimer's & Dementia, April 2026 / Devanand et al., Alzheimer's & Dementia, October 2024

Related Items Readers May Find Helpful

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

The items below relate to everyday smell care. Smell training — briefly sniffing strong, familiar scents each day — is a simple exercise often suggested for people whose sense of smell has faded, and a saline rinse can help when congestion or sinus trouble is the cause. Please note: no supplement or product treats smell loss or prevents dementia. If your sense of smell has changed and the change lasts, please see an ear, nose, and throat doctor or a neurologist, as this article describes.

Note: These are product categories, not specific product recommendations. They cannot restore the sense of smell or prevent dementia.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Could Hearing Aids Help Bring Memory Back?

The TV keeps getting louder. "What did you say?" becomes a daily phrase. Yet when hearing aids come up, many wave the idea away. "I'm not that bad yet." But a new trial suggests hearing aids may help bring memory back. Researchers in Shanghai, China, studied 703 adults with an average age of 75. All had moderate to severe hearing loss along with mild cognitive impairment. Half were fitted with hearing aids; the other half received health education only. Two years later, the results were in, published in the October 2026 issue of JAMA Neurology. The results were striking. In the hearing aid group, about 1 in 7 (15.34%) recovered normal cognitive scores. In the education-only group, it was about 1 in 42 (2.36%) — roughly a sixfold difference. Memory was the domain that improved most clearly. Participants wore their hearing aids an average of 5.9 hours a day. Why? When hearing fades, the brain receives less sound stimulation, conversations get harder, and peop...
Read more

The Value of Encounters, Part 3: The Things and the People We Have Met

Image
Have you ever stopped to think about where your emotions come from? The sadness you feel, the joy you express, the happiness you experience—have you ever wondered when those emotions were first created and why they still appear today? Think about the toys you loved as a child. Think about the friends you cherished. Think about the toys you disliked, the friends you resented, and the experiences that left a deep impression on your heart. As you grew older, you found new possessions that you loved and others that you disliked. You met friends you treasured and people who disappointed or hurt you. Perhaps someone excluded you, leaving you with painful memories. Perhaps someone encouraged you, supported you, and filled your heart with gratitude. Every one of those experiences created emotions that remained within you. Now, as an adult, you still have people you love, people you dislike, possessions you value, and memories that continue to influence your heart. When something happens t...
Read more

Building Standards in Your Heart (Part 3): When Different Understandings of Love Conflict

Image
  When Different Standards of Love Meet In life, there are times when we receive love and times when we give it. Sometimes we are the ones who need love. At other times, someone else needs our love. There are also moments when both people are trying to love each other at the same time. Yet even when both people have good intentions, conflicts can still arise. Why does this happen? Too often, people argue, become frustrated, hurt one another, and drift apart without understanding the real reason behind the conflict. One important reason is that every person has developed a different understanding of love. Our ideas about love are shaped by our families, our experiences, our culture, and the environment in which we were raised. Because of this, each person carries a unique standard of what love looks like. When two people express love according to different standards, misunderstandings are almost inevitable. It is actually quite rare for two people to have exactly the same expectatio...
Read more