Olfactory dysfunction in multiple sclerosis: Relation to longitudinal changes in plaque numbers in central olfactory structures

Scores on the University of Pennsylvania Smell Identification Test (UPSIT), as well as the numbers of MRI-determined plaques within the inferior front al and temporal lobes, were obtained on three or four separate occasions in each of five MS patients over an 18- to 20-month period. A close associati on was observed, longitudinally, between the remission and exacerbation of plaque numbers and UPSIT scores, with more plaques reflecting lower UPSIT s cores. These observations further support the hypothesis that olfactory los s in MS is associated with fluctuations in plaque numbers in central olfact ory brain regions.