OLFACTORY IDENTIFICATION IN ELDERLY SCHIZOPHRENIA AND ALZHEIMERS-DISEASE

In the present study we assessed olfactory identification ability usin g the University of Pennsylvania Smell Identification Test (UPSIT) in 16 elderly patients with schizophrenia (ES), 20 patients with a diagno sis of probable Alzheimer's disease (AD), and 20 healthy elderly contr ols (EC). Both patient groups exhibited marked deficits in UPSIT perfo rmance relative to controls. ES and AD patients with similar levels of general cognitive impairment did not differ on the UPSIT, suggesting that the two disorders may share a common dysfunction in olfactory bra in regions. While there have been recent reports of greater olfactory impairment in males, neither patient group exhibited significant gende r differences on the UPSIT. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science Inc.