The doctor told us about the diseases caused by the loss of sense of smell.

Loss of sense of smell is not a good sign, and may signal the onset of dementia. Valery Novoselov, a geriatrician, gerontologist, and chairman of the Department of Gerontology at Moscow State University, said this on Tuesday, March 11.

According to the expert, the sense of smell is responsible for the so-called "old brain": the deep structures of the limbic-reticular system, closely related to the mechanisms of our memory.

"Everything is connected in the brain. Therefore, loss of sense of smell is a sign that something has gone wrong. For neurodegenerative diseases, the most important thing is Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease, which are characterized by similar disorders in the form of odor disappearance," the expert explained in an interview with Radio 1.

Novoselov recalled that during the pandemic, many people lost their smells and tastes, which also indicated damage to the brain and system.

"Memory mechanisms, odor mechanisms, in general, any efferent system (smell, taste, sound) is increasingly disrupted with age, and this is an unfavorable sign," concluded the geriatrician.

Earlier, on March 6, Invitro neurologist Olga Solovyova said that dementia develops against the background of organic brain damage, metabolic and vascular diseases of the whole body.

The disease, as noted by the doctor, can manifest itself in different ways depending on the development and stage. According to her, the likelihood of this syndrome is especially high in people over 65 years of age due to the accumulated "baggage" of various diseases.

In turn, doctor and TV presenter Elena Malysheva said that hearing problems are a provoking factor in the development of dementia, IA Regnum reports.

Earlier, in August 2024, Vera Tretyakova, a psychophysiologist and researcher at the Moscow State Pedagogical University's Center for Neurocognitive Research, said that the brain stops developing around the age of 25-30, and its gradual aging begins at the same time.