Christopher Hawkes

Nonmotor Symptoms in Parkinson Disease

This article is a review of the evidence for involvement of nonmotor symptoms in the prodromal and manifesting stages of Parkinson disease

Sinusitis Treatment and Restored Sense of Smell

These authors studied the effect of functional endoscopic sinus surgery (FESS) on the sense of smell and olfactory bulb volume in 19 patients with chronic sinusitis. Participants underwent olfactory testing and MRI of the olfactory bulb the day before and 3 months after surgery. For comparison, 18 healthy control subjects underwent testing at a similar interval. Olfactory testing involved Sniffin Sticks to evaluate olfactory identification, threshold, and discrimination. …

Prion Protein Is Involved in Olfaction

The physiologic function of cellular (normal) prion protein (PrPC) is not fully understood. Behavioral phenotypes observed in knockout mice suggest

Predicting Recovery from Smell Loss

This was a longitudinal study of predictors of recovery in 542 people who complained of smell loss due to various causes, including trauma, infection,

Olfactory Identification Deficit and Alzheimer Disease Pathology

These authors assessed whether difficulty in identifying odors in old age relates to accumulation of Alzheimer disease (AD) pathology. In a prospective

Human “Pheromone” Brain Response and Sexual Orientation

The testosterone derivative androstadienone and the estrogen-like steroid estratetraenol are possible human pheromones. Inhalation of these compounds causes anterior-hypothalamic activity on PET scans, with differences according to the subjects’ sex. These authors studied the pattern of brain activation on PET scans in 12 heterosexual men, 12 homosexual men, and 12 heterosexual women.nnScans of both …

Which Smells Best Predict Dementia

At long last it is generally acknowledged, on the basis of pathologic and clinical investigations, that one of the earliest symptoms of Alzheimer disease (AD) is impairment of smell function and that this deficit in isolation may herald subsequent dementia. These authors used the 40-odor University of Pennsylvania Smell Identification Test (UPSIT) to determine which subset of smells best discriminated among 63 healthy controls, 147 patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI), and 100 patients with AD in the …

Smell Loss in the Ataxias -- A Cerebellar Disorder?

These two studies were prompted by recent evidence that the cerebellum, apart from its claimed role in language, may be involved in olfactory

Early Olfactory Involvement in Brains with Alzheimer-Type Changes

Researchers examined brain specimens with pathologic evidence of Alzheimer Disease (AD) to determine whether the frequency and severity of peripheral changes in the olfactory pathway (bulb and tract) reflect AD-type changes in what the authors simply call the cortex, without any further distinction. They examined the autopsied brains of 110 patients plus one patient with familial AD using standard histochemical and immunochemical methods.nnThe researchers found degenerative olfactory pathway changes in 84% of specimens that also had AD-type changes in other cortical areas. The …

Do Patients with Essential Tremor Have Personality Abnormalities

Recent investigations have suggested that patients with essential tremor (ET) may have cognitive defects, but personality change has not been examined. These authors tested 55 patients with ET and 61 healthy controls who were comparable in location of residence, sex, years of education, and cumulative illness ratings. Patients averaged about 5 years older than controls. All participants were interviewed and completed the tridimensional personality questionnaire, which measures harm avoidance, novelty seeking, and reward dependence.nnThe main finding was a slightly higher mean harm-avoidance score in those with …