Urine Odor May Detect Early Stages Of Alzheimer's Disease

Could Alzheimer's have a smell?

Researchers were able to tell the difference between the smell of urine in normal mice and mice that had been genetically altered to model aspects of Alzheimer's.

"Now we have evidence that urinary odor signatures can be altered by changes in the brain characteristic of Alzheimer's disease," said Dr. Bruce Kimball, a chemical ecologist at the USDA National Wildlife Research Center, in a news release. "This finding may also have implications for other neurologic diseases."

During the study, researchers looked at three modified mouse models that showed signs of Alzheimer's disease. They studied the behavior of the mice, as well as chemical changes found in their urine.

Findings revealed that changes in odor resulted in a different combination of compounds in the urine when compared to control mice without the genetic changes.
What makes the study so interesting is that researchers believe that changes in urine odor occur before buildup of plaques in the brain formed in the mice (similar to those found in humans.) Furthermore, they believe these changes are the result of a genetic cause and not the physical changes in the brain that we see with symptoms of the health issue.

Hwoever, more research will be needed in humans to fully understand these changes. 

"While this research is at the proof-of-concept stage, the identification of distinctive odor signatures may someday point the way to human biomarkers to identify Alzheimer's at early stages," said Dr. Daniel Wesson, a neuroscientist at the Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine.

The study is published in Scientific Reports. 

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