Alzheimer's disease is usually diagnosed through a series of laboratory and invasive tests in order to rule out other possible diseases that affects a suspected patient. However, a new study revealed that they have come up with a urine test that can determine whether a person is experiencing the early signs of Alzheimer's through its smell.
A team of researchers from various health organizations and universities in the U.S has conducted a study in order to figure out if a person is already in the early stages of the illness. For their study, which is now published in a journal called Scientific Reports, the scientists have studied three lab rats whose brains were genetically altered to mimic both brain and behavioral changes that were usually found in Alzheimer's patients.
After doing a series of analysis, the researchers were able to figure out that the three rats produced different urine odors that were very distinct from those who weren't part of the experiment. The difference of smell might be attributed to the fact that there's a build up on amyloid plaque which has been previously linked to Alzheimer's disease.
In one of the recent statements released by Dr Bruce Kimball, a chemical ecologist with the US Department of Agriculture's National Wildlife Research Centre, previous researches have shown that changes can occur due to the viruses or vaccines injected on a person. However, their newest study was able to showcase that the smell of the urine can now be altered by changes in the brain characteristic caused by Alzheimer's.
Dr. Daniel Wesson, a neuroscientist at the Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine in the US, stated that even though the research was able to prove a concept, the process of identifying odor changes can someday be the way of identifying whether someone is at the onset of Alzheimer's disease or not.
