Sense of smell in centenarians from Eastern Sicily.

The sense of smell was studied in a group of centenarians from Eastern Sicily, displaying a mini mental state examination score larger than 19. Analysis of the data demonstrated that centenarians retain the capacity to perceive olfactory stimuli. However, as compared to the results obtained in groups of young and elderly subjects, a statistically significant quantitative reduction (p < 0.001) in the sense of smell was revealed in the centenarians.