Introduction: Smoking in long term is not only responsible for cancerous changes but is also one of the reasons of altered taste sensation in smokers. These taste changes are hypothesized to be due to reduction in density of fungiform papillae on the dorsum of the tongue.
Aim: The aim of this study was to assess the relationship between fungiform papillae count, blood Red Cell Distribution Width (RDW) and electrogustometric thresholds in smokers and non-smokers.
Materials And Methods: Fungiform papillae count was assessed using digital photography and imaging software while electrogustometric thresholds were assessed using modified Transcutaneous Electric Nerve Stimulation (TENS) machine in 30 smokers and 30 non-smokers. The subjects also underwent RDW evaluation. The data collected was analyzed using Pearson's correlation coefficient.
Results: Fungiform papillae counts in smokers were less than those of non-smokers and an inverse relationship was detected between smoking and fungiform papillae count. Electrogustometric thresholds were more in smokers than non-smokers and showed direct relationship with smoking. RDW was significantly more in smokers compared to non-smokers. An inverse relationship was observed between fungiform papillae count and RDW.
Conclusion: Our results suggest that smokers have a high taste threshold because of decrease in the number of fungiform papillae on the tongue and RDW values do show an inverse relationship with fungiform papillae density which depicts subclinical nutritional deficiency bringing atrophic changes in tongue.
Download full-text PDF |
Source |
---|---|
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4948516 | PMC |
http://dx.doi.org/10.7860/JCDR/2016/14478.7835 | DOI Listing |
BMC Oral Health
January 2025
Department of Otolaryngology, University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston, Galveston, TX, USA.
Objective: With altered sense of taste being a common symptom of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), the main objective was to investigate the presence and distribution of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) within the tongue over the course of infection.
Methods: Golden Syrian hamsters were inoculated intranasally with SARS-CoV-2 and tongues were collected at 2, 3, 5, 8, 17, 21, 35, and 42 days post-infection (dpi) for analysis. In order to test for gross changes in the tongue, the papillae of the tongue were counted.
Sci Rep
January 2025
Department of Biological Sciences, University of Southern California, 3616 Trousdale Parkway, AHF 252, Los Angeles, CA, 90089-0372, USA.
Habitual consumption of low-calorie sweeteners (LCS) during juvenile-adolescence can lead to greater sugar intake later in life. Here, we investigated if exposure to the LCS Acesulfame Potassium (Ace-K) during this critical period of development reprograms the taste system in a way that would alter hedonic responding for common dietary compounds. Results revealed that early-life LCS intake not only enhanced the avidity for a caloric sugar (fructose) when rats were in a state of caloric need, it increased acceptance of a bitterant (quinine) in Ace-K-exposed rats tested when middle-aged.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Neurochem
January 2025
Department of Oral Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Okayama University, Okayama, Japan.
Different taste cells express unique cell-type markers, enabling researchers to distinguish them and study their functional differentiation. Using single-cell RNA-Seq of taste cells in mouse fungiform papillae, we found that Cellular Communication Network Factor 3 (Ccn3) was highly expressed in Type III taste cells but not in Type II taste cells. Ccn3 is a protein-coding gene involved in various biological processes, such as cell proliferation, angiogenesis, tumorigenesis, and wound healing.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFOpen Vet J
September 2024
Department of Anatomy, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Universitas Gadjah Mada, Yogyakarta, Indonesia.
Nutrients
October 2024
Department of Internal Medicine, College of Medicine, University of Central Florida, Orlando, FL 32827, USA.
Background/objectives: Adiponectin, the most abundant peptide hormone secreted by adipocytes, is a well-known homeostatic factor regulating lipid metabolism and insulin sensitivity. It has been shown that the adiponectin receptor agonist AdipoRon selectively enhances cellular responses to fatty acids in human taste cells, and adiponectin selectively increases taste behavioral responses to intralipid in mice. However, the molecular mechanism underlying the physiological effects of adiponectin on fat taste in mice remains unclear.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEnter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!