Sense of smell and Parkinson's linked

Older men who have an impaired sense of smell may be at a higher risk for the development of Parkinson's disease, according to new research. Parkinson's disease, a relatively common neurological illness affecting older adults, can cause movement problems such as tremors and rigidity, along with a mild declines in intellectual function. These changes are thought to occur because of damage to the cells that make dopamine - a key protein that regulates both movement and thought. Researchers have been hunting for screening tools that might help detect people who are at risk for developing Parkinson's, to slow the disease's progression. Now, researchers have gotten closer to finding such a tool. Researchers from the Pacific Health Research Institute in Honolulu examined more than 2,000 men who had no symptoms of the illness and tested their ability to identify various odors from a preset odor identification kit. After controlling for age, cigarette smoking, and intellectual factors, they found that men who scored poorly on odor testing were more likely to develop Parkinson's disease within 4 years.

BOTTOM LINE: Initial studies show that an impaired sense of smell in older men may increase their risk of developing Parkinson's disease -- suggesting that odor testing may someday be used as a tool to screen for those at risk.

CAUTIONS: Only men were studied. It's not clear whether these results apply to women.

WHAT'S NEXT: More trials need to be conducted to verify the link between smell impairment and Parkinson's.

WHERE TO FIND IT: The Annals of Neurology, Feb.

SUSHRUT JANGI

A study last year suggested that music players like iPods disrupted the functioning of pacemakers and defibrillators - possibly because the magnetic fields of the musical device and the medical one interfere with each other. However, a recent study led by Drs. Gregory Webster and Charles Berul at Children's Hospital Boston suggests otherwise. Berul and colleagues tested 51 cardiac patients between the ages of six and 60 with implanted devices used to maintain a regular heart rate. They placed four kinds of digital music players - - two types of iPods, the SanDisk Sansa, and Microsoft Zune - directly above the implanted heart devices and found that there was no interference in the functioning of the pacemakers or defibrillators. Placing the music players directly above the implanted device did interfere with the checking and reprogramming of the device in 40 percent of the patients, but even this interference disappeared if the music player was moved six inches away from the implanted device.

BOTTOM LINE: "Digital music players do not interfere" with pacemaker or defibrillator function, Berul said. "But just to be on the safe side it is better to not carry these music players directly on top of implanted heart devices."

CAUTIONS: Researchers tested the effect of these music players for just a minute at a time. We do not know the effect when they are carried for a long time.

WHAT'S NEXT: Cardiologists at Children's Hospital Boston want to test the effect of music players over a longer period of time.

WHERE TO FIND IT: Heart Rhythm, April

SENA DESAI GOPAL