One of the signs of an imminent death is named
Last reviewed: 23.04.2024
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Experts argue that an adult who has lost his sense of smell has a good chance of dying suddenly.
In the periodical Huffington Post pay attention to the fact that a few years ago, the loss of smell from doctors was associated with Alzheimer's disease. But one of the latest scientific experiments provided new information: it turns out that this is not entirely true. The loss of the ability to smell is not only a sign of Alzheimer's, but also a symptom of an impending death.
"Anosmia" - this term medical specialists call the loss of the ability to smell. In most cases, this condition is associated with pathologies in the nasal cavity (for example, with sinusitis or sinusitis) or in the brain.
In the last study, during which volunteers from 40 to 90 years were examined, it was found that the deterioration of the sense of smell was in many cases closely related to the real danger of an imminent death. During the ten-year experiment, more than four hundred participants died: in all, about 1,800 volunteers took part in the study.
Research staff representing the demographic faculty of the University of Stockholm paid special attention to such data as the general health of participants, as well as the functional characteristics of their brain. As a result, scientists have determined that the degree of danger of an early fatal outcome increases in those people who during the study lost the ability to distinguish smells. As a percentage, the risk of death increased by almost 20%.
"The information obtained can not be due to senile dementia - including vascular etiology, although dementia and loss of sense of smell have often been identified before. First of all, the danger of premature death was unambiguously associated with anosmia, "says Professor Jonas Olofson, one of the leading investigators. "In the course of further experiments - and they will surely be - we will try to find out the course of biological mechanisms in order to disclose in detail all the secrets of such a phenomenon," the professor adds.
Many scientists, having analyzed the received information, confirm the hypothesis that loss and decrease of the olfactory function can be considered the result of age-related changes in the brain.
Of course, such cases do not include anosmia associated with a change in the condition of the nasal septum, with brain trauma. In addition, cases of congenital anosmia are also common - when children are born without the ability to detect any smells. The experiment was based precisely on the loss of smell in adulthood, without certain, clearly justified reasons. Therefore, before making conclusions and sounding the alarm, based on the results of this study, you need to visit a doctor. It is desirable, that it was a narrow specialist - for example, an otolaryngologist, who can give an answer regarding the problem of deterioration of the olfactory function.
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