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Olfactory deficits in Down subjects: a link with Alzheimer disease
Zucco GM, Negrin NS.. Perceptual and motor skills, 1994-04-01
Topic: Amyloid, tau and blood-test diagnosis
Two groups of subjects, 14 young (ages 20 to 31 years) and 14 adults (ages 32 to 54 years), both groups with Down Syndrome, were examined on a matching and naming olfactory task. On the former, subjects were required to recognize among four a previously sniffed odour, while on the latter they had to label an odour by choosing among four alternatives provided by the examiner. Analysis indicated that the adults with Down Syndrome scored worse than the young group on both tasks and that the impairment of the two groups was more pronounced on the matching task. On considering the similarity between the neurodegenerative brain pathology exhibited by Alzheimer patients and Down subjects and a recent observation that the former show pathological changes also in the olfactory epithelium (neuritic plaques and neurofibrillary tangles), these two olfactory tasks could represent a useful noninvasive diagnostic method.
Cite this study APA, Vancouver, BibTeX · download .bib or .ris
APA 7th
Zucco, G. M., & Negrin, N. S. (1994). Olfactory deficits in Down subjects: a link with Alzheimer disease. Perceptual and motor skills. https://doi.org/10.2466/pms.1994.78.2.627
Vancouver
Zucco GM, Negrin NS. Olfactory deficits in Down subjects: a link with Alzheimer disease. Perceptual and motor skills. 1994. doi:10.2466/pms.1994.78.2.627. PMID: 8022691.
BibTeX
@article{zucco1994-8022691,
author = {Zucco, G. M. and Negrin, N. S.},
title = {{Olfactory deficits in Down subjects: a link with Alzheimer disease}},
journal = {Perceptual and motor skills},
year = {1994},
doi = {10.2466/pms.1994.78.2.627},
pmid = {8022691},
url = {https://doi.org/10.2466/pms.1994.78.2.627}
}
Built from the record alzhub holds for this paper, not looked up. Volume, issue and page numbers are not held in the record. Check the citation against the original before you use it.
Key findings
- Analysis indicated that the adults with Down Syndrome scored worse than the young group on both tasks and that the impairment of the two groups was more pronounced on the matching task.
Why it matters
Adults with Down syndrome scored worse than younger people with Down syndrome on two olfactory tasks, and the authors suggest these tasks could be a useful noninvasive diagnostic method. This is about diagnosis and does not test any treatment, cure, or prevention.
Study details
- Participants14
- Evidence strengthLow
How this study scored 33/100
Published in a peer-reviewed journal. Scored zero for study design, effect reported and randomised / blinded because the record does not state it. We have no data on senior author's track record, so that was left out: it earned 32 of the 96 points we could judge it on, which is 33 out of 100.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 7 / 10 | Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (Perceptual and motor skills) |
| Journal's citation record | 1 / 4 | Perceptual and Motor Skills: journal h-index 139 (OpenAlex, 2026-10-29) |
| Study design | 0 / 12 | No study design recorded — scores zero, not guessed (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Strength of evidence | 1 / 5 | Rated “low” in our summary |
| Peer-review validation | 10 / 10 | Peer-reviewed. Published as an article in a named peer-reviewed journal. |
| How recent | 1 / 5 | 1994 — older than 20 years, still counted |
| Sample size | 1 / 4 | 14 participants |
| Effect reported | 0 / 3 | No effect size reported — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Studied in people | 3 / 3 | Studied in people (participant count stated) |
| Randomised / blinded | 0 / 2 | No randomisation or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Times cited | 3 / 7 | Cited 27 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 0 / 5 | 0.8 citations a year over 34 year(s) since 1994 |
| Impact for its field and year | 1 / 6 | Cited 0.7× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 1 / 6 | Cited by 1 other studies in this library |
| Still being cited | 0 / 4 | Cited 1 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | — / 4 | OpenAlex's profile for last-listed author Nila Saviolo Negrin holds only 3 work(s), too few to judge a track record — left out of this score |
| Institution's track record | 1 / 3 | University of Padua: institution h-index 1,158 (OpenAlex) |
| Multi-centre collaboration | 0 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 1 institution(s) in 1 country — scores zero (affiliation lists can be incomplete) |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 8022691) |
| Free to read | 0 / 2 | Behind a paywall — scores zero |
| Points | 32 / 96 | Scored on 19 of 20 parts. We have no data for the rest, so they are left out: 32 of the 96 points we could judge it on is 33 out of 100. |
| Total | 33 / 100 | — |
What each of these 20 components measures, and what this score is not →
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Also tagged “down”
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