EVALUATIN OF THE UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA SMELL IDENTIFICATION TEST (UPSIT) APPLICABILITY IN BRAZIL

Avaliação da aplicabilidade  do Teste de identificação do olfato da Universidade da Pensilvânia

Tatiane  Indrusiak Silva²,  Igor Barreira Magro²,  Thaís Lins  Gemir²,  Marcílio Oliveira Filho², Carlos Frederico

Souza Lima3, Luiz Ataíde Junior¹

Summary: It has been known for more than 30  years that there exists a relationship between  loss of smell

and neurodegenerative  diseases.  Currently, there is a test that uses certain aromas to assess olfactory capacity: the University of Pennsylvania Smell Identification Test (UPSIT). Some studies, however, show a series of drawbacks  in applying the UPSIT test in Brazil, such as using literate people as an inclusion criteria and the use of smells that are unknown to the Brazilian population, in addition to its high cost and difficulties in applying and interpreting the tests by those who take them. This paper  presents an evaluation of the applicability of this test in Brazil and a bibliographical review of the subject matter.

KEY WORDS:  smell, neurodegenerative  diseases,  smell test, Brazil.