The Potential Role of Gustatory Function as an Early Diagnostic Marker for the Risk of Alzheimer’s Disease in Subjective Cognitive Decline

BACKGROUND: Patients with subjective cognitive decline (SCD) report memory deterioration and are at an increased risk of converting to Alzheimer’s disease (AD) although psychophysical testing does not reveal any cognitive deficit. OBJECTIVE: Here, gustatory function is investigated as a potential predictor for an increased risk of progressive cognitive decline indicating higher AD risk in SCD. METHODS: Measures of smell and taste perception as well as neuropsychological data were assessed in patients with subjective cognitive decline (SCD): Subgroups with an increased likelihood of the progression to preclinical AD (SCD+) and those with a lower likelihood (SCD–) were compared to healthy controls (HC), patients with mild cognitive impairment and AD patients. The Sniffin’ Sticks test contained 12 items with different qualities and taste was measured with 32 taste stripes (sweet, salty, bitter, sour) of different concentration. RESULTS: Only taste was able to distinguish between HC/SCD– and SCD+ patients. CONCLUSION: This study provides a first hint of taste as a more sensitive marker than smell for detecting preclinical AD in SCD. Longitudinal observation of cognition and pathology are necessary to further evaluate taste perception as a predictor of pathological objective decline in cognition.