Olfactory function in Parkinson's disease subtypes

Decreased olfactory function commonly occurs in idiopathic Parkinson's disease (PD), regardless of stage, treatment, or duration of disease. In the present study, we sought to determine whether different subtypes of PD, categorized according to well-defined clinical criteria, evidence different degrees of olfactory dysfunction. Significantly different scores on the University of Pennsylvania Smell Identification Test (UPSIT) were present between patients with benign PD and malignant PD (respective means SD = 22.51 8.50 and 17.38 6.29) and between tremor-predominant PD and postural instability-gait disorder (PIGD)-predominant PD (23.43 8.18 versus 17.35 6.00). No statistically significant differences in UPSIT scores were observed between young-onset and older-onset PD patients. Women outperformed men in most subtypes examined.