Olfactory Dysfunction: Etiology, Diagnosis, and Treatment.

Background: Disorders of the sense of smell have received greater attention because of the frequency with which they occur as a symptom of SARS-CoV-2 infection. Olfactory dysfunction can lead to profound reduction in quality of life and may arise from many different causes.

Methods: A selective literature review was conducted with consideration of the current version of the guideline issued by the Association of the Scientific Medical Societies in Germany.

Validation of Olfactory Network Based on Brain Structural Connectivity and Its Association With Olfactory Test Scores.

Olfactory perception is a complicated process involving multiple cortical and subcortical regions, of which the underlying brain dynamics are still not adequately mapped. Even in the definition of the olfactory primary cortex, there is a large degree of variation in parcellation templates used for investigating olfaction in neuroimaging studies. This complicates comparison between human olfactory neuroimaging studies.

The Association Between Smoking on Olfactory Dysfunction in 3,900 Patients With Olfactory Loss.

Objectives/hypothesis: The association between smoking and olfactory loss remains a conundrum. Prior studies have found negative and positive effects of smoking on olfactory function in the general population. However, smoking cessation seems to improve both rated and measured olfactory function.

Influence of external ear occlusion on food perception.

Purpose: The present study aimed to explore if food perception can be influenced by sound mastication level when the external ear canal was occluded.

Methods: Fifty-nine adults (38 women) with normal hearing, smell, and taste participated in the study. They tasted five crispy and five soft food items over two sessions: one with and one without an earplug inserted in the external ear canal.

Intranasal vitamin A is beneficial in post-infectious olfactory loss.

Vitamin A plays a decisive role in the regeneration of olfactory receptor neurons. In this retrospective study we investigated the effectiveness of topical vitamin A in patients with post-infectious and posttraumatic smell disorders. Retrospective cohort.

The effect of intranasal sodium citrate on olfaction in post-infectious loss: results from a prospective, placebo-controlled trial in 49 patients.

Objectives: Free calcium plays an integral role in peripheral olfactory processing, including feedback inhibition. It has therefore been suggested that reduction of intranasal free calcium with buffer solutions such as sodium citrate may improve olfactory function in patients with smell impairment. Several previous studies have supported this hypothesis, particularly in post-infectious olfactory loss.

Characteristics of chemosensory disorders--results from a survey.

This survey was undertaken to investigate the nature of chemosensory dysfunction in relation to the underlying cause, severity, and course of the disease and to elucidate their clinical significance. A total of 269 patients (116 men and 149 women) with chemosensory disorders participated in the survey. Approximately 89 % had olfactory loss, either alone or in combination with taste loss and 2 % had gustatory loss alone; 7.

A computer-controlled olfactometer for a self-administered odor identification test.

Odor identification tests are widely used for the general screening of olfactory function. However, the administration of odor identification tests is often limited due to a lack of investigators' time. Therefore, we attempted to design a computer-controlled olfactometer to present a self-administered odor identification test.

Prognostic factors of olfactory dysfunction.

Objective: To determine appropriate counseling of patients with olfactory dysfunction.

Design: Retrospective analysis.

Setting: Interdisciplinary Center for Smell and Taste, University of Dresden Medical School, Technical University of Dresden.

Number of descriptors in cued odor identification tests.

Objective: To investigate whether results from cued odor identification tests are influenced by the number of verbal descriptors presented with each odor and whether a larger number of descriptors would improve the differentiation between individuals with various degrees of olfactory loss.

Design: Randomized, crossover study.

Setting: University Clinic in Brussels.