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PubMed1996

Le Nez du Vin--a quick test of olfaction.

There is a need for a quick and inexpensive smell identification test. A six odour multiple choice smell test derived from Le Nez du Vin, a winetaster's kit, is described. One hundred and thirty-two subjects assessed a mean of 5.28 +/- 1.18 odours correctly. There was a significant difference between those who considered themselves to have a normal sense of smell (n = 91), mean score 5.52 +/- 0.76, and those who thought themselves hyposmic (n = 41), mean score 4.76 +/- 1.68. (P < 0.001). No significant differences could be detected between the scores of smokers and non-smokers, nor those of males and females. Twenty-one patients performed both the Nez du Vin and University of Pennsylvania Smell Identification Test (UPSIT) in random order. Results of the two tests showed good correlation (r = 0.79, P < 0.001).

Adolescent↗
PubMed2003

Evidence for nest-odour recognition in two species of diving petrel.

In nearly every procellariiform species, the sense of smell appears to be highly adapted for foraging at sea, but the sense of smell among the diving petrels is enigmatic. These birds forage at considerable depth and are not attracted to odour cues at sea. However, several procellariiform species have recently been shown to relocate their nesting burrows by scent, suggesting that these birds use an olfactory signature to identify the home burrow. We wanted to know whether diving petrels use smell in this way. We tested the common diving petrel Pelecanoides urinatrix and the South-Georgian diving petrel Pelecanoides georgicus to determine whether diving petrels were able to recognise their burrow by scent alone. To verify the efficacy of the method, we also tested a bird that is known to use olfaction for foraging and nest recognition, the thin-billed prion Pachyptila belcheri. In two-choice T-maze trials, we found that, for all species, individuals significantly preferred the odour of their own nest material to that of a conspecific. Our findings strongly suggest that an individual-specific odour provides an olfactory signature that allows burrowing petrels to recognize their own burrow. Since this ability seems to be well developed in diving petrels, our data further implicate a novel adaptation for olfaction in these two species that have been presumed to lack a well-developed sense of smell.

Animals↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Pregnancy anxieties and natural recognition in baby-switching.

Recent media reports in the USA of baby-switching at birth have caused anxiety for a number of maternity patients. Although alternative precautionary procedures are being implemented by hospitals to prevent baby-switching, ways to allay the maternity patient's anxiety must also be considered. While maternity patients can be expected to recognize their neonates, it is less clear how well they perform recognition under specified conditions. An American team of researchers noted postpartum mothers' anxiety levels and their natural cues to recognize crying sounds and garment smells of their babies as preventive measures against baby-switching. An experimental study design was used to conduct this research. Participants completed a demographic form and Levin's pregnancy anxiety instrument, followed by three recognition challenges for hearing and smelling cues. Ten per cent of mothers reported anxiety about baby-switching, 65.9% recognized their babies from recorded crying, and 52.3% recognized their babies by smell. Mothers do have the natural ability to recognize the cries or smells of their babies, even when anxious about baby-switching. Educating new mothers, acknowledging their natural ability for baby recognition, and promoting the use of private rooms with same-room (couplet) care can serve as extra safeguards.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1995

Olfactory threshold and nasal mucosal changes in experimentally induced common cold.

Common cold is a most common disease in man accompanied by an experience of a diminished sense of smell. Controlled studies of the sense of smell are lacking and the cause as well as degree of impairment of smell in common cold has not been satisfactorily evaluated. We have investigated whether impaired olfactory ability accompanies common cold and if the loss is related to nasal blockage and to the amount of nasal discharge. For this purpose we measured the threshold of olfaction in volunteers before and after nasal inoculation with coronavirus 229E. The absolute olfactory threshold was assessed by a modified discrimination step test with dilutions of butanol. Symptoms of common cold were registered using a four-grade scale. Nasal obstruction was measured by nasal peak expiratory flow and by acoustic rhinometry and nasal discharge by weight of pre-weighted handkerchiefs. Individuals with a cold had impaired olfaction and the change in smelling ability correlated to the nasal congestion but not to the nasal discharge in analysis of multiple linear regression.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2001

[Observation on the changes in nasopharyngeal carcinoma patients' olfactory before and after radiotherapy].

OBJECTIVE: Detecting nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) patients' olfactory before and after radiotherapy for investigating the infection of radiotherapy on these patients' olfactory. METHOD: 100 NPC patients' olfactory were detected before the start of radiotherapy and after the termination of therapy in 3, 6, 12, 24 and 36 months. RESULT: Patients' smell acuity decreased sharply 3 months after therapy, but varying degrees of recovery were noted in 6 and 12 months. However their smell acuity became worse in the following time. CONCLUSION: NPC patients' smell acuity can be profoundly affected by radiotherapy. And after radiotherapy, their smell acuity will decrease wave-likely and cannot fully recover.

Adult↗
PubMed2003

Annoyance and performance during the experimental chemical challenge of subjects with multiple chemical sensitivity.

OBJECTIVES: This study explored the subjective reactions and psychological test performance of smell-intolerant subjects during consecutive challenges to chemicals with contrasting neurotoxic properties. METHODS: Women with symptoms compatible with multiple chemical sensitivity (N=10) and healthy referents (N=20) were individually challenged in an exposure chamber. All the subjects attended two separate 2-hour sessions of exposure to n-butyl acetate and toluene, in counterbalanced sequence. After an initial phase without exposure, air concentrations were increased in steps ranging from 3.6 to 57 mg/m3 for n-butyl acetate and from 11 to 180 mg/m3 for toluene. The response measures comprised ratings of annoyance and smell intensity and also neurobehavioral test performance. RESULTS: Both groups showed an increase in annoyance ratings and a decrease in test performance in the initial unexposed chamber phase and also in the first phase of the chemical exposure, these results indicating slight immediate expectancy or "suggestion" effects. During the six chamber phases, the ratings of mucous membrane irritation and fatigue showed a steeper increase in the group with multiple chemical sensitivity than among the referents, while the ratings of smell intensity and smell annoyance were similar in the two groups. A reduction in test performance was observed during the chamber phases, particularly in the group with multiple chemical sensitivity. No relation was found between the ratings or performance and chemical substance. CONCLUSIONS: Stronger immediate expectancy or "suggestion" reactions than normal did not characterize the group with multiple chemical sensitivity. This group showed a stronger than normal gradual build-up of fatigue, mucous membrane irritation, and reduced performance during chemical exposure. The results offer the most support to an irritative basis for multiple chemical sensitivity.

Acetates↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Elderly peoples' meals. A comparative study between elderly living in a nursing home and frail, self-managing elderly.

BACKGROUND: Sweden is one of few countries that have specific recommendations regarding mealtime habits. The importance of mealtime habits for health outcome is inadequately studied in elderly subjects. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to investigate the distribution of the daily meals/energy intake; the number of eating episodes per day and subjectively estimated meal-dependent variables (appetite, motivation to eat, sense of taste and sense of smell) and compare the results of elderly living in a nursing home with frail, self-managing elderly living at home. DESIGN: Explorative study. All analyses of energy intake were based on food records; weighed in the nursing home and estimated in the frail, self-managing elderly. Participants or contact persons estimated the subjective variables using a 10-point VAS scale. RESULTS: On average there were 4-5 daily eating episodes in both groups. The eating episodes were much more widespread over the day in the self-managing elderly, and their length of fasting at night was significantly shorter. The subjects estimated appetite and sense of smell was reduced in about 30-40% in both groups. Sense of taste was reduced in 40 % of the males and 10-20 % of the females. Energy intake was similar in both groups, 25 kcal/kg body weight/day, with more than a threefold variation among individual subjects. Energy intake/kg body weight correlated with a shorter length of fasting at night in the nursing home residents, however, did not correlate with ADL, number of eating episodes per day, appetite, motivation to eat, or senses of taste or smell. CONCLUSION: The self-managing elderly had more widespread eating episodes than the elderly in the nursing home, indicating that self-managing elderly exhibit larger variations in food intake preferences, however, without affecting mean energy intake. The lack of correlation between energy intake and estimated appetite, taste and smell is in line with previous findings in elderly.

Activities of Daily Living↗
PubMed1987

[Changes in the signal significance of olfactory stimuli when coupled with negative experiences in young puppies].

A 5-min centripetal acceleration made the initially indifferent response to eucalyptus smell negative and the initially positive response to the mother smell uncertain in newborn puppies. The aversion to eucalyptus smell preserved longer than to the mother smell. Prolongation of the acceleration up to 15 min. increased the duration of olfactory aversion. The duration of aversion increases from 1st to 20th day but is quickly suppressed in 12-13-day old puppies due, apparently, to the interfering effects on the part of "young" analyzers (vision, hearing) involved in the control of behaviour during this period of ontogenesis. The prolonged preservation of the aversion occurs in infrequent presentation of olfactory stimuli not reinforced with rotation. Combining of feeding with subsequent rotation decreases the amount of consumed food which is essential for understanding of some cases of anorexia in children subjected to radial acceleration.

Acceleration↗
PubMed1979

Olfaction and muscle activity: an EMG pilot study.

The therapeutic significance of limbic system structures in general, and olfactory structures specifically, has been described by Fox, Ayres, Moore, and Farber in their professional presentations and publications. No data have yet been provided to substantiate claims of the effects of olfactory stimulation on muscle activity. Effects of olfactory stimulation on human muscle activity at rest were studied in seven normal children and seven normal adults. Upper trapezius, biceps brachii, rectus abdominis, and rectus femoris were monitored electromyographically for changes in muscle action potentials using peppermint oil and smelling salts in each of three positions--supine, seated quietly, and standing. Trapezius showed the greatest responsiveness in relation to other muscles. Using peppermint oil, only 18 out of 168 or 10.7 percent of the EMG recordings showed changes in muscle activity. Using smelling salts, only 21 out of 168 or 12.5 percent of the EMG recordings showed changes in muscle activity. Directional effects of peppermint oil could not be predicted, whereas stimulation with smelling salts, when effective, generally produced increased muscle activity. Children were more responsive to olfactory agents than were adults. Sex of subjects did not seem to effect the distribution of responses. When smelling salts was presented as an initial stimulus, subjects showed a greater responsiveness to all stimuli. The present data indicate that proposed effects of olfactory stimulation are more limited than was previously believed. Possible implications for clinical practice and suggestions for further study are presented.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2001

Impact of olfactory impairment on quality of life and disability.

OBJECTIVE: To determine whether olfactory loss affects patients' quality of life or level of disability. DESIGN: Retrospective survey using questionnaire data and clinic database review. SETTING: Two university medical center smell and taste clinics. PATIENTS: A total of 1407 patients were tested for smell and taste disturbances from 1984 through 1998. Surveys were mailed to 1093 patients who had abnormal test scores; 420 (38.4%) returned completed surveys. Patients were grouped by self-rated ability to smell as "impaired" (those reporting persisting deficits) or "improved" (those reporting no smell problem when surveyed). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Response frequencies were compared between the 2 groups for questions regarding ability to perform common activities of daily living and quality-of-life issues. RESULTS: Mean (+/-SD) number of activities of daily living affected by olfactory loss was 4.70 +/- 3.56 for the impaired group and 0.61 +/- 1.58 for the improved group (P < .001). Among specific activities, the most common cited impairments were ability to detect spoiled food (impaired vs improved groups, 75% vs 12%; P < .001), gas leaks (61% vs 8%; P < .001), or smoke (50% vs 1%; P < .001); eating (53% vs 12%; P < .001); and cooking (49% vs 12%; P < .001). Differences in quality-of-life issues were reported primarily in the areas of safety and eating. Overall satisfaction with life was reported by 87% of the improved group but only 50% of the impaired group (P < .001). CONCLUSIONS: Patients reporting persistent olfactory impairment after previously documented olfactory loss indicate a higher level of disability and lower quality of life than those with perceived resolution of olfactory compromise.

Activities of Daily Living↗
PubMed1992

Ultrastructural histopathology of human olfactory dysfunction.

This paper presents electron-microscopic observations on biopsies of the olfactory mucosae of several classes of patients with smell disorders: 1) patients with loss of smell function following head injury (post-traumatic anosmics or hyposmics); 2) patients with loss of smell function following severe head colds and/or sinus infections (post-viral olfactory dysfunction, or PVOD); and 3) patients that have lacked smell function since birth (congenital anosmics). Of these, the traumatic anosmics' olfactory epithelia were quite disorganized; the orderly arrangement of supporting cells, ciliated olfactory receptor neurons, microvillar cells, and basal cells was disrupted. Although many somata of ciliated olfactory receptors were present, few of their dendrites reached the epithelial surface. The few olfactory vesicles present usually lacked olfactory cilia. The post-viral anosmics, too, had a greatly reduced number of intact ciliated olfactory receptor neurons, and most of those present were aciliate. The post-viral hyposmics had a larger population of intact, ciliated olfactory receptor cells. In the seven cases of congenital anosmia studied, no biopsies of olfactory epithelium were obtained, indicating the olfactory epithelium is either absent--or greatly reduced in area--in these individuals.

Biopsy↗
PubMed2005

[Use of fragrances. What about the side effects?].

Fragrances are increasingly used in private and public domains. Over recent years the olfactory sense has been paid more and more scientific and economic attention. While on the one hand bad smells are counteracted by fragrances, marketing experts are now trying to introduce this sense into multimedia-based experiences. Technical means are used to address positively and directly the sense of smell. The aim is to make the smell a unique feature for a certain brand or location. When it comes to "style of living" or "special shopping experience" nowadays the olfactory design plays an important role. Although fragrances are applied very frequently, there is still a lack of knowledge about the potential consequences for health and the environment. Certain substances (musk compounds) have been proven persistent and accumulative, and others belong to the most common causes of contact eczema. Some people also report special sensitivities towards certain smells for unknown reasons. Unlike audiovisual attractions it is very difficult for humans to avoid olfactory stimuli. The question arises whether fragrance materials constitute a group of substances that should receive more attention concerning their risk for health and the environment.

Allergens↗
PubMed2006

Taste in dementing diseases and parkinsonism.

Like with many sensory abilities a reduction of taste and smell occurs during aging. Since there are hints to an additional reduction in dementing diseases, we assessed 52 patients, 26 women and 26 men, who were presented to a memory clinic, using the Sniffin' Sticks, Whole Mouth and Taste Strip Tests. While smoking, alcohol consumption, intake of drugs and sex exerted only minor impact, age and the severity of cognitive impairment were of major importance. There was a moderate but significant correlation between the severity of dementia, taste and smell, even if the age effect was partialled out. Notably, patients with Parkinson syndrome showed worse taste and smell abilities than those without. Here the differences were indeed marked enough to play a possible role in making the diagnosis. This exploratory study confirms a mild reduction of gustatory function in dementing diseases over and beyond that of normal aging which--in addition to a reduction of smell--seems to be especially marked in Parkinson syndromes.

Adult↗
PubMed2005

Olfactory deficits, cognition and negative symptoms in early onset psychosis.

BACKGROUND: Smell identification deficits (SID) are common in adult schizophrenia, where they are associated with negative symptoms and lower intelligence. However, smell identification has not been examined in adolescents with early onset psychosis, wherein diagnosis is often obscure, and there are few prognostic predictors. METHOD: We examined smell identification, diagnosis, neuropsychological performance and symptoms in 26 well characterized adolescents with early onset psychosis, age 11-17 years. RESULTS: SID existed in the sample and were more common in patients with schizophrenia and psychotic depression than in patients with psychosis NOS and bipolar disorder. As in adults, SID were significantly associated with greater negative symptoms and lower verbal IQ. However, the associations of verbal IQ (and other verbal tasks) to smell identification in this pediatric sample were explained by the relation of both of these types of variables to negative symptoms. CONCLUSIONS: SID existed across this sample of youths with psychotic disorder, and were specifically related to typical characteristics of schizophrenia, such as negative symptoms and lower intelligence, but not to features of bipolar disorder, such as grandiosity. SID is a characteristic of early onset psychosis that may be useful for prognostic purposes.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2000

Effect of dietary supplements and physical exercise on sensory perception, appetite, dietary intake and body weight in frail elderly subjects.

This present study investigated the effect of a 17-week intervention programme with nutrient-dense foods (enriched with vitamins and minerals at 25-100% of the Dutch recommended dietary allowance) and/or physical exercise in 159 frail elderly subjects (forty-six men, 113 women, mean age 78.7 (SD 5.6) years). Subjects were randomized into four groups: (1) control, (2) nutrition intervention, (3) exercise or (4) both nutrition intervention and exercise. Main outcome variables were sensory perception (smell test and questionnaire), appetite (questionnaire), energy intake (3 d food record) and body weight (on a weighing scale and with dual energy X-ray absorptiometry measurements). At baseline, moderate but significant correlations were found between appetite and energy intake (r 0.30, P < 0.0001), between smell test and smell perception assessed by questionnaire (r 0.40, P < 0.0001) and between lean body weight and energy intake (r 0.50, P < 0.0001). Results after 17-weeks intervention revealed neither change in smell test scores (P = 0.19) nor in appetite (P = 0.17). A slight positive effect of exercise compared with non-exercising groups on energy intake (difference 0.5 MJ, P = 0.05) was shown next to a preserving effect of exercise on lean body mass (+0.08 kg) compared with a decrease (-0.4 kg) in non-exercisers (P < 0.02). The correlation between the change in lean body mass and change in energy intake was 0.18 (P = 0.05). In conclusion, an interesting preserving effect on lean body mass in frail elderly subjects due to 17 weeks of exercise was shown. Since a decline in lean body mass was observed in the non-exercisers, effects may be attributable to change in activity pattern. Changes in lean mass were also slightly, but significantly, correlated with changes in energy intake. In turn, energy intake was not related to a change in reported appetite or sensory perception. Nutrient-dense foods were not able to improve any of the outcome variables in this study.

Aged↗
PubMed2004

Controversy over Hygrophorus cossus settled using ITS sequence data from 200 year-old type material.

Sowerby described Agaricus cossus in 1799. The fungus possessed a smell, resembling that of a wounded larva of Cossus cossus (Lepidoptera). The species belongs in Hygrophorus, and since more than one white Hygrophorus species has this distinctive smell the epithet cossus has been variously interpreted. The complete internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region of the original type collection made in 1794, preserved in the Royal Botanic Gardens Kew herbarium, was successfully sequenced. Comparison with the ITS sequences from four other white aromatic-acidulous smelling Hygrophorus species, including the type specimen of H. quercetorum, showed that H. cossus is a species associated with Quercus and an older name for H. quercetorum. The differences in basidiome colouration developing with age and host-tree association appear to be the most useful characters to discriminate between the four species with a Cossus cossus smell. A table of morphological and ecological characters is provided.

Agaricales↗
PubMed2002

Odor identification impairments in schizophrenia: relationship with demographic measures, clinical variables, and diagnostic subtypes.

Smell identification deficits are consistently found in schizophrenia (SZ), but little is known about the nature and characterization of this deficit or its relationship to the phenomenology of the illness. This study aims to further delineate smell identification errors in SZ by examining the relationship of patient demographic differences with smell-identification performance. Our results showed that a patient's gender and education were related to odor-identification scores, with better performance seen in female patients and in those with greater educational attainment. However, there was no effect related to age, ethnicity, or socioeconomic status on odor identification. A smell identification deficit was also unrelated to clinical characteristics of the patients, including age at first hospitalization, number of psychiatric hospitalizations, and duration of illness. Odor identification also did not differ by SZ subtype, nor between SZ and schizoaffective disorder patients. These findings emphasize that odor identification deficits in SZ are unrelated to clinical illness features, cannot be explained by other confounds related to olfaction in the general population, and may be core features related to the SZ disease process.

Journal Article↗
PubMed2002

Quality of life, taste, olfactory and oral function following high-dose chemotherapy and allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation.

Multiple oral complaints develop following high-dose chemo/radiotherapy and hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT) which can influence quality of life. The purpose of this investigation was to assess quality of life, oral function, taste and smell in a cohort of patients following HCT. A general quality of life survey (the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC)) Quality of Life (QOL) questionnaire (QLQ-C30), with an added oral symptom and function scale and assessment of taste and smell was administered to a consecutive series of patients at day 90-100 post HCT. General QOL was impacted by fatigue, affecting physical, social emotional and cognitive function. While oral function scales appeared to be little affected at day 90-100 post HCT, abnormalities of taste were reported. Reports of changes in taste and smell appeared to parallel each other and changes remained at the time of the survey post-HCT. Change in taste appeared to be closely associated with dry mouth. Patients appeared to have difficulty in differentiating sour and bitter, which had been more affected than salt and sweet taste. Females appeared to report greater changes in taste than males. Increased smell sensitivity and taste change resulted in changes in food preparation in some cases, as did reported increase in sensitivity to sour and bitter taste. Acute complications are well known to affect QOL during the early period following HCT, but little assessment of long-term changes in oral QOL and taste has been conducted following transplant. The EORTC QLQ C-30 questionnaire with the oral addendum provides a measure of the quality of life and oral function, and may provide useful outcome measures for assessment of oral care prevention and management in HCT patients.

Adult↗