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At least 973 records · Page 54Linked to original sources
PubMed1999

Fluctuating olfactory sensitivity and distorted odor perception in allergic rhinitis.

OBJECTIVE: To characterize the relationship between allergic rhinitis, the severity and duration of nasal disease, olfactory function, and self-reported olfactory symptoms, including fluctuations or distortions in odor perception. DESIGN: Assessment of olfactory function and symptoms of 90 patients with allergic rhinitis. SETTING: A clinic of a university teaching hospital and research facility. PATIENTS: Sixty patients who presented to the Taste and Smell Clinic who had positive allergy test results and 30 patients who presented to the Allergy-Immunology Clinic. The Taste and Smell Clinic patients were grouped by nasal-sinus disease status (30 without chronic rhinosinusitis or nasal polyps, 14 with chronic rhinosinusitis but without polyps, and 16 with nasal polyps). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Subjective olfactory symptom questionnaire and objective olfactory function tests. RESULTS: The Allergy-Immunology Clinic patients were diagnosed as being normosmic and the Taste and Smell Clinic patients as being hyposmic or anosmic with olfactory loss that increased significantly with nasal-sinus disease severity. Comparisons with normative data confirm that olfactory scores observed in all groups were significantly lower than expected because of the aging process alone. The self-reported duration of olfactory loss increased significantly with nasal-sinus disease severity. The Taste and Smell Clinic patients without chronic rhinosinusitis or nasal polyps reported the greatest incidence of olfactory distortions and olfactory loss associated with upper respiratory tract infections. CONCLUSIONS: There appears to be a continuum of duration and severity of olfactory loss in allergic rhinitis that parallels increasing severity of nasal-sinus disease. As a result of the increased frequency of respiratory infection associated with allergic rhinitis, these patients are at risk for damage to the olfactory epithelium.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1990

Design issues in chemosensory trials.

Randomized clinical trials in taste and smell disorders have been infrequent, in part because of difficulties in both the design and the conduct of such trials. Hyposmia and hypogeusia, impairments of smell and taste, respectively, have a variety of causes, such as upper respiratory infection, head trauma, or laryngectomy. Once definitive diagnosis is established, eligibility and exclusion criteria may relate to etiology. Since the sense of smell is more acute at younger ages and since women can generally identify odors more accurately than men, either prestratification or poststratification should be considered. A control or comparison group is essential because, occasionally, chemosenses spontaneously return to normal. Patient recruitment may be difficult, depending to a large extent on self-referrals, with the exception of head injury cases. To enroll an adequate number of patients in a reasonable length of time usually requires participation of multiple clinical centers. Objective measurements of taste and smell must be reliably obtained before and after intervention. Design issues specific to chemosensory trials are discussed in the context of an example, a factorial design trial of surgery and steroids in patients with olfactory defects.

Humans↗
PubMed2003

Olfaction in neurodegenerative disorder.

There has been an increase of interest in olfactory dysfunction since it was realised that anosmia was a common feature of idiopathic Parkinson's disease (PD) and Alzheimer-type dementia (AD). It is an intriguing possibility that the first sign of a disorder hitherto regarded as one of movement or cognition may be that of disturbed smell sense. In this review of PD, parkinsonian syndromes, essential tremor, AD, motor neurone disease (MND) and Huntington's chorea (HC) the following observations are made: 1). olfactory dysfunction is frequent and often severe in PD and AD; 2). normal smell identification in PD is rare and should prompt review of diagnosis unless the patient is female with tremor-dominant disease; 3). anosmia in suspected progressive supranuclear palsy and corticobasal degeneration is atypical and should likewise provoke diagnostic review; 4). hyposmia is an early feature of PD and AD and may precede motor and cognitive signs respectively; 5). subjects with anosmia and one ApoE-4 allele have an approximate 5-fold increased risk of later AD; 6). impaired smell sense is seen in some patients at 50% risk of parkinsonism; 7). smell testing in HC and MND where abnormality may be found, is not likely to be of clinical value; and 8). biopsy of olfactory nasal neurons shows non-specific changes in PD and AD and at present will not aid diagnosis.

Apolipoprotein E4↗
PubMed1994

Role of sensory and cognitive information in the enhancement of certainty and liking for novel and familiar foods.

Expected and actual liking for novel and familiar foods were examined under various conditions of sensory and verbal information with 121 subjects who differed in food neophobia. The possible mediating roles of uncertainty about product identity and resemblance to familiar foods were also investigated. Subjects were divided into three verbal information groups (no information; product name; ingredient and use information) balanced for neophobia, age and gender. All groups rated test samples under three sensory conditions: (1) appearance only, (2) appearance and smell and (3) appearance, smell and taste. Neophilics rated novel foods more favorably than did neophobics. Accumulating sensory experience (appearance, smell, taste) decreased liking for novel foods but increased liking for familiar foods. Verbal information generally increased liking for all samples. Liking and certainty of product identity were curvilinearly related for novel foods, but linearly related for familiar foods. Liking for products judged to closely resemble the test product predicted up to 64% of the variability in expected and actual liking. Eight weeks later, subjects rated one of the two novel foods higher than in the first exposure, but no other exposure effects were observed. Our data suggest that information (possibly via reduced uncertainty), resemblance to more familiar foods, and exposure contribute to reducing initially negative responses to novel foods; furthermore, neophobia decreases liking for novel foods similarly at all levels of sensory input (visual, smell and taste).

Adult↗
PubMed1985

Axillary 5 alpha-androst-16-en-3-one in men and women: relationships with olfactory acuity to odorous 16-androstenes.

Axillary 5 alpha-androst-16-en-3-one (5 alpha-androstenone) levels were found to be significantly higher in men than in women but do not vary between left and right axillae, are not related to age, handedness or degree of hirsutism (in women) nor to anosmia to this steroid. In men (but not in women), levels are related linearly to axillary cholesterol concentrations but not to squalene. Olfactory thresholds for 5 alpha-androstenone varied widely, the lowest recorded being 0.2 ppb, but there was no difference in thresholds between men and women. Women (70%) found the smell 'repellant' but anosmia did not differ greatly between men and women (9-20%). Anosmia to the smell of 5 alpha-androst-16-en-3 alpha-ol was most marked in women (90%) rather than in men (45%). Axillary 5 alpha-androstenone values were generally consistent with the 'musky' or 'strong' smells of male axillary extracts, compared with the 'sweet' smell of those from female subjects.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2006

Olfactory dysfunction and its measurement in the clinic and workplace.

OBJECTIVES: To provide an overview of practical means for quantitatively assessing the sense of smell in both the clinic and workplace. To address basic measurement issues, including those of test sensitivity, specificity, and reliability. To describe and discuss factors that influence olfactory function, including airborne toxins commonly found in industrial settings. METHODS: Selective review and discussion. RESULTS: A number of well-validated practical threshold and suprathreshold tests are available for assessing smell function. The reliability, sensitivity, and specificity of such techniques vary, being influenced by such factors as test length and type. Numerous subject factors, including age, sex, health, medications, and exposure to environmental toxins, particularly heavy metals, influence the ability to smell. CONCLUSIONS: Modern advances in technology, in conjunction with better occupational medicine practices, now make it possible to reliably monitor and limit occupational exposures to hazardous chemicals and their potential adverse influences on the sense of smell. Quantitative olfactory testing is critical to establish the presence or absence of such adverse influences, as well as to (a) detect malingering, (b) establish disability compensation, and (c) monitor function over time.

Air Pollutants, Occupational↗
PubMed2006

Comparison of subjective perception with objective measurement of olfaction.

OBJECTIVE: To see if nasal peak inspiratory flow rate and subjective sense of smell had any correlation with olfactory thresholds. STUDY DESIGN AND SETTING: A cohort study of 186 normal volunteers was recruited from among staff and visitors at a university hospital. Olfactory thresholds were detected for each subject (103 with eucalyptol and 83 with phenethyl alcohol), along with nasal peak inspiratory flow (PIFR). Subjective sense of smell, along with nasal symptoms, mood, and alertness, were recorded on visual analogue scores. RESULTS: Subjective perception of smell had no correlation with olfactory thresholds detected (P = 0.4057) and the other subjective measures also had no correlation. There was a significant relationship of PIFR to thresholds in the group tested with phenethyl alcohol (P = 0.002). CONCLUSION: As with the sensation of nasal patency, the self-assessment of a subject's sense of smell has poor correlation with their actual olfactory ability. SIGNIFICANCE: A patient's history cannot be relied upon when determining their olfactory ability and formal testing should be performed. EBM RATING: A-1b.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2004

Prefrontal and tegmental electrical activity during olfactory stimulation in virgin and lactating rats.

This study was designed to analyze if the electroencephalographic (EEG) activity of the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) and the ventral tegmental area (VTA) was modified throughout various reproductive stages of female rats exposed to pup-associated or non-associated odors. Simultaneous EEG recordings were obtained from right and left mPFC and VTA in adult female rats during the smelling of nest bedding and female bedding under three reproductive states: proestrus-estrus (P-E), diestrus (D) and lactation (L). Absolute (AP) and relative (RP) powers of three EEG band frequencies, and interhemispheric correlation (r) of EEG activity were calculated and compared among conditions. During the awake-quiet condition, RP of the 12-21 Hz band was significantly higher in the right and left mPFC as well as in the right VTA of lactating rats as compared to P-E rats. During the smelling of nest bedding, the RP of the 8-11 Hz in the mPFC became increased while that of the 6-7 and 12-21 Hz decreased in the three reproductive stages. In the VTA, this phenomenon was mainly observed in lactating rats. Only the RP of the lower frequencies (6-7 and 8-11 Hz bands) was higher in the right mPFC and in the left and right VTA, respectively, of the lactating rats with respect to P-E rats, while that of the 12-21 Hz band was lower in lactating as compared to P-E rats. Moreover, the interprefrontal correlation of the lower-frequency bands was higher in relation to smelling of nest bedding in diestrus and lactating rats, whereas during the smelling of female bedding the correlation of the 6-7 Hz band was increased only in the diestrus rats as compared to P-E rats. These data indicate that EEG activity recording is a sensitive tool to study the functionality of the mPFC and VTA during different reproductive states and suggest the possible participation of these structures in the processing of olfactory stimuli associated to pups to modulate the motivational and performance processes, crucial for the expression of maternal behavior.

Animals↗
PubMed2004

[Olfactory disorders].

Smell and taste problems are of major importance to those who suffer from olfactory disorders. The inability to determine the presence of odors in the home and the markedly reduced capacity or incapacity to appreciate food flavors are key reasons given for limited social interaction. Patients experiencing distorted smells and tastes may avoid food, which results in weight loss and possible malnutrition. We present an overview of smell disorders, based on physiological considerations, with specific attention to clinical characteristics of conditions most commonly causing smell disorders.

Adult↗
PubMed1988

Significance of intravenous olfaction test using thiamine propyldisulfide (Alinamin) in olfactometry.

The significance of intravenous olfaction test in olfactometry was studied by injection of thiamine propyldisulfide (Alinamin) intravenously. An original solution of Alinamin is a thiol-type derivative of vitamin B1, and releases a mercaptan smell (garlic smell) in expired air when it arrives at the olfactory epithelium via the nasopharynx. In the intravenous olfaction test (Alinamin test), the latent time which is a period between the initiation of injection and recognition of garlic smell, and duration time which is a period between the recognition and disappearance of smell are measured. Our results indicated that latent time is influenced by olfactory acuity and duration time depends on olfactory adaptation phenomenon. Central olfactory disorders were highly suspected in hyposmia patients with duration time of less than 15 sec, and nonresponders in Alinamin test always showed poor prognosis in the recovery of olfactory acuity. It was considered that the Alinamin test is useful not only for estimating the degree of olfactory disorders, but also for differential diagnosis of impaired lesions and olfactory prognosis.

Chronic Disease↗
PubMed1988

Importance of unilateral examination in olfactometry.

Hyposmia, the decreased sense of smell, and anosmia, the loss of sense of smell, may be unilateral or bilateral. If the olfactory acuity examined by means of bilateral test is normal, olfactory disorders are not found; unilateral examination is therefore necessary for definite evaluation of olfactory acuity. As evidence, 7 cases out of 94 patients with chronic rhinosinusitis and 6 cases out of 12 patients who received the surgery of anterior cranial fossa showed definite different olfactory threshold between nasal cavities, and there were no patients who recognized the diminished sense of smell in spite of unilateral high olfactory threshold. Additionally, we have experienced that a patient with brain tumor was diagnosed by the help of unilateral olfactory test. We thus strongly recommend the unilateral olfactometry as a method for simple and reliable test in clinical measurement of the sense of smell.

Chronic Disease↗
PubMed2002

Oral health, taste, and olfaction.

Oral health, taste, and smell are critical components to an older person's overall sense of well-being and quality of life. Oral health problems can cause pain and discomfort and can hinder the maintenance of a satisfying and nutritious diet. Loss of taste and smell interferes with pleasure derived from food and food-related activities. Attention should be given to preserving teeth and optimizing oral function. Likewise, close evaluation of older adults' medications may identify the causes of taste and smell disorders. In instances in which nutrient intake is inadequate and chemosensory perception is considered a likely contributor, a trial of flavor enhancers or monosodium glutamate may improve both quality and quantity of intake. Much more information is needed to understand the interrelationship between chemosensory perception, food intake regulatory mechanisms, and nutritional status. Multidisciplinary studies will be required to understand how to improve nutrition through manipulation of oral characteristics, taste, and smell.

Aged↗
PubMed2003

Anatomical and behavioural asymmetries in right and left handers from India.

A biometric study of the right and left limb size and functional-behavioural measures, such as, strength of the hand and the foot, foot-eye-ear preferences, asymmetries in visual acuity and audiometry, asymmetries in taste and smell perceptions was made in a sample of Indian students to find out the interrelationships between the above parameters. Healthy adult male (n = 42), females (n = 45) right handers, and, male (n = 21), female (n = 20) left handers were studied. In each, 8 measurements of each of the limbs were taken, and the strength of the hands and feet determined. Hand and foot preferences were determined through 11 and 9 tasks respectively. Dominance in the eye, ear, taste and smell were ascertained by various tests. Right or left handedness and right footedness were clearly discernible but left footedness was indistinct. Right handedness was associated with dominant right upper limb and left handedness was associated with dominant left upper limb. Only right handers showed a dominant corresponding lower limb. Eyedness was related to handedness in males. Earedness and taste were associated with handedness in females. Smell had no relationship with handedness in both sexes. There was no interrelationship between handedness, footedness, eyedness, earedness, taste and smell.

Audiometry↗
PubMed2004

Trail making and olfaction in schizophrenia: implications for processing speed.

BACKGROUND: Previous research has established a relationship between smell identification deficits (SID) and particular aspects of cognitive function among patients with schizophrenia. OBJECTIVE: To expand the extant literature, we examined the relationship between SID and the Trail Making Test to determine if processing speed is related to SID. METHODS: Our sample included 60 inpatients from the New York State Psychiatric Institute's Schizophrenia Research Unit. We considered age, deficit syndrome, verbal intelligence quotient, and education in our analyses due to their documented relationship to smell identification ability. RESULTS: Trails A errors and Trails A seconds accounted for a significant amount of the variance in University of Pennsylvania Smell Identification Test scores in a regression analysis (R2=.10, P=.008 and R2=.05, P=.04). CONCLUSION: Linking neurocognition to smell identification deficits may prove to be an essential marker for schizophrenia research.

Adult↗
PubMed2002

Correlations among behavioral measures of orbitofrontal function.

Orbitofrontal cortex plays an important role in guiding behavior based on emotional input and rewards. It receives multimodal higher order sensory information and mediates reinforcement for primary as well as secondary or conditioned forms of reinforcement (e.g., monetary rewards). Several behavioral measures have demonstrated putative sensitivity to orbitofrontal function: smell identification, delayed alternation, and response inhibition (go/no-go and antisaccades). A correlational study of performances on these tasks by healthy controls demonstrated some interrelationships: go/no-go correlated with antisaccades, left nostril smell correlated with go/no-go, and right nostril smell correlated with delayed alternation. Further analysis showed that certain smells correlated with tasks more strongly than others. Given the diversity of these tasks, it is suggested that these intercorrelations results from at least the partial overlap of the neural substrates for olfactory identification and tasks requiring response modification based on reinforcement contingencies.

Adult↗
PubMed2007

Individual differences in odor imaging ability reflect differences in olfactory and emotional perception.

We asked whether the large variability in odor imaging ability is underlain by interindividual differences in the processing of smells and emotion. Olfactory imaging ability, anhedonia level, and odor perception were measured in 40 subjects, using the Vividness of Olfactory Imagery Questionnaire (VOIQ), the Physical Anhedonia Scale, and the European Test of Olfactory Capabilities. "Good" olfactory imagers, defined primarily on the basis of the VOIQ, rated pleasant smells as more familiar and had lower anhedonia scores than "bad" olfactory imagers. Based on self-reported measures, these results suggest that, like olfactory perception, the mental imagery of smells is related to emotion and that, beyond their differences in vividness, good and bad olfactory imagers differ in their experience of emotion and long-term memory of smells.

Adult↗
PubMed1999

Traumatic brain injury assessed with olfactory event-related brain potentials.

Olfactory event-related potentials (OERPs) were evaluated to develop an objective, quantitative assessment of sensory and cognitive olfactory loss following traumatic brain injury (TBI). Subjects included 25 TBI patients and 25 age/gender-matched healthy controls. Following standard clinical evaluation of smell function, TBI patients were divided into three groups: 12 anosmics (loss of smell), 6 hyposmics (reduced smell), and 7 normosmics (normal smell). Cognitive ability was assessed using the Trail Making Test (A and B). OERPs were recorded monopolarly from midline electrode sites using an amyl acetate stimulus with a 60-second interstimulus interval; subjects estimated the magnitude of each odor stimulus. Anosmic TBI patients were also tested with OERPs using ammonia to ensure trigeminal nerve function. Amyl acetate OERPs demonstrated that the sensory N1 and P2 amplitudes and the cognitive P3 amplitudes were absent in the anosmic TBI patients and greatly reduced in the hyposmic and normosmic TBI patients compared to healthy controls. The trigeminal OERPs from the anosmic TBI patients were within normal limits, indicating that the primary olfactory deficits were objectively measured with OERPs. The relationship between the OERPs and neuropsychologic test performance supports the cognitive loss associated with TBI. The present study lends support to the utility of OERPs as an objective tool for measuring sensory and cognitive loss after traumatic brain injury.

Adult↗
PubMed2005

The calming effect of a familiar odor on full-term newborns.

We assessed the effectiveness of an odor (familiar or unfamiliar) in soothing healthy full-term newborns undergoing a routine heel stick. Forty-four breast-fed newborns were randomly assigned to one of four groups: Before the heel stick, Group 1 was naturally familiarized with their mother's milk odor, Group 2 was familiarized with a vanilla smell, and Groups 3 and 4 did not receive any familiarization. During and after the heel stick, Group 1 was presented with their mother's milk odor, Group 2 was presented with the familiar vanilla, Group 3 was presented with an unfamiliar odor, and Group 4 was a control group. Infants' crying, grimacing, and head movements were analyzed before, during, and after the heel stick. Results show that infants who smelled a familiar odor (their mother's milk or vanilla) cried and grimaced significantly less during the recovery phase compared with the heel stick phase. Infants who were presented with an unfamiliar odor or no odor showed no significant changes during recovery. Moreover, infants who smelled their mother's milk exhibited significantly less motor agitation during the heel stick compared with the other groups. These findings indicate that smelling a familiar odor reduces agitation during the heel stick and diminishes distress after the procedure.

Female↗