Olfactory defects can indicate susceptibility to schizophrenia, according to a new study. Unaffected first-degree relatives of people with schizophrenia were tested and compared to mentally healthy individuals with no family history of the disease. Findings revealed marked impairments in olfactory sensory processing among the first group, showing genetic predisposition to schizophrenia, even in the absence of symptoms.
The University of Pennsylvania study was recently published in the journal Schizophrenia Research. The research team, led by Bruce Turetsky, had previously showed that first-degree relatives of people with schizophrenia have reduced olfactory bulb volumes.
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