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Results for “Taste Disorders”

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At least 1,261 records · Page 70Linked to original sources
PubMed2002

Effect of different probiotic preparations on anti-helicobacter pylori therapy-related side effects: a parallel group, triple blind, placebo-controlled study.

OBJECTIVES: Several studies show that probiotics may prevent side effects during therapy against Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori). Other reports indicate competitive interaction between some probiotics and H. pylori. We compared efficacy of two different probiotics and one probiotic combination with placebo for preventing anti-H. pylori therapy-related side effects and for improving the eradication rate. METHODS: A total of 85 H. pylori positive, asymptomatic patients were randomized in four groups to receive probiotic or placebo both during and for 7 days after a 1-wk triple therapy scheme (rabeprazole 20 mg b.id., clarithromycin 500 mg b.i.d., and tinidazole 500 mg b.i.d.). Group I (n = 21) received Lactobacillus GG; group II (n = 22), Saccharomyces boulardii; group III (n = 21), a combination of Lactobacillus spp. and biphidobacteria; and group IV (n = 21), placebo. Subjects filled in weekly symptom questionnaires for 4 wk. Blinded investigators collected and analyzed data. H. pylori status was rechecked after 5-7 wk. RESULTS: Side effects occurred mainly during the eradication week. None of them caused therapy discontinuation. In all probiotic-supplemented groups, there was a significantly lower incidence of diarrhea and taste disturbance during the eradication week with respect to the placebo group. Overall assessment of tolerability was significantly better in the actively treated patients than in the placebo group. No differences in the incidence of side effects between the probiotic groups were observed. The H. pylori eradication rate was almost identical between the probiotic and placebo groups. CONCLUSIONS: All the probiotics used were superior to placebo for side effect prevention, but were not associated with better compliance with antibiotic therapy. The effect of probiotic supplementation on side effects during anti-H. pylori regimens seemed to be independent of the probiotic species used.

Abdominal Pain↗
PubMed1977

Oral feeding in the nutritional management of the cancer patient.

Nutritional therapy of the cancer patient by the oral route includes management of factors that may cause anorexia, attempts to modify the patient's eating behavior, and the offering of nutritional supplements to the patient. Anoretic factors for which specific strategies may be employed include taste abnormalities, pain, nausea, and depression. Modification of the patient's eating behavior involves patient education, monitoring, and feedback. Education includes nutritional instruction and instruction in favorable patterns for mealtime eating and stimulation of snack eating. Snack eating includes the use of nutritional supplements, and patient acceptance of commercially available supplements was studied. When synthetic chemically defined nutritional products were compared with milk-based product, patients preferred the milk-based product. Intercomparisons between milk-based products showed slight differences in preference ranking among these products and also differences between patients and controls in their relative order of ranking. Preference testing may be useful in assisting the health care team in selecting the optimal nutritional supplement to offer each patient.

Administration, Oral↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Prospective evaluation of antidepressant discontinuation].

The authors prospectively assessed symptoms induced by the interruption of antidepressants in 16 patients (11 women and 5 men), aged from 33 to 85 years (mean = 52.4 +/- 16.4), treated with antidepressants since at least two weeks. All patients were free of alcohol abuse or dependence disorder and of other dependence to psychoactive substances. None of them presented medical illness. Diagnosis were made by separate evaluations by two authors and confirmed with a semistructered assessment instrument: the Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia (Lifetime Version). All patients were submitted to a brutal discontinuation of their antidepressant agent. Patients were assessed twice, before the interruption of the antidepressant, and 72 hours later. Effects of antidepressant interruption were assessed by several means. Modification of anxiety and depression were evaluated using the Montgomery Asberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS) and the Hamilton Anxiety Scale. Symptoms of withdrawal were assessed with Cassano and al.'s scale SESSH including an evaluation of anxiety, agitation, irritability, anergy, difficulty on concentrating, depersonalization, sleep and appetite disorders, muscle pains, nausea, tremor, sweating, altered taste, hyperosmia, paresthesias, photophobia, motor incoordination, dizziness, hyperacousia pain, delirium. Fourteen of the 16 patients (87.5%) presented modifications of their somatic or psychic state 3 days after the interruption of the antidepressant treatment. Most frequent symptoms were: increase in anxiety (31%), increase in irritability (25%), sleep disorders (19%), decrease of anergia and fatigue (19%). Mean scores of anxiety and depression were not significantly modified by the withdrawal. Following TCAs interruption (7 patients) most frequent symptoms were sleep disorders; increase in anxiety, nausea. Among patients withdrawn from SSRIs (6 patients), most frequent symptoms were increase in anxiety, increase in irritability, headache. Patients also presented a decrease of nausea, and of anorexia.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Unpleasant taste--a neglected symptom in depression.

Of 47 depressed patients, 19 reported the symptom of unpleasant taste. This symptom appeared unrelated to previous drug treatment. Also, in this study, there was no significant association with prognosis, severity or type of depression, or with various historical factors. Despite this, it would seem to be an underreported symptom, worthy of further investigation.

Adult↗
PubMed2005

Taste function in xerostomia before and after treatment with a saliva substitute containing carboxymethylcellulose.

BACKGROUND AND AIM: The feeling of a dry mouth may affect individual dietary habits, nutritional status, oral hygiene, speech, and gustatory sensitivity. The present study aimed to specifically investigate gustatory function before and after saliva replacement therapy. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Whole-mouth gustatory function was assessed in 25 patients suffering from xerostomia (6 male, 19 female; age range 42-82 years) before and after 4 to 6 weeks of saliva replacement therapy using a preparation containing carboxymethylcellulose. The results were compared with those from healthy controls matched for age and sex (6 male, 19 female; age range 42-82 years). Using a whole-mouth test, gustatory function was assessed for sucrose, citric acid, sodium chloride, and caffeine. RESULTS: All subjects detected the four taste qualities at the highest concentration. However, the patients with xerostomia had lower scores in the gustatory test compared with the healthy controls (p < .001). No correlation was found between gustatory scores and the duration or severity of the disorder. Therapy had no effect on measured gustatory function (p = .33); however, saliva replacement led to a significant improvement in other xerostomia-related symptoms (p < .001). CONCLUSIONS: This study confirms previous work indicating that xerostomia is accompanied by decreased gustatory sensitivity. Lubricants based on carboxymethylcellulose may have a positive effect on some of the symptoms of xerostomia. However, these "simple" lubricants based on carboxymethylcellulose have little or no effect on whole-mouth gustatory function.

Adult↗
PubMed2000

Buccal hemineglect.

OBJECTIVES: To determine whether the peripersonal and intrapersonal buccal space can be affected by a hemispheric stroke and to evaluate the clinical signs resulting from buccal neglect. METHODS: A prospective study comparing 2 groups of patients with hemiplegia, 1 with a right hemispheric lesion and the other with a left hemispheric lesion. Patients were selected consecutively on the basis of specific criteria at least 1 month after stroke. RESULTS: Buccal hemineglect was usually concomitant with other hemineglect phenomena resulting from lesions of the right hemisphere (10 of 12 in right lesions and 1 of 12 in left lesions). Clinical signs associated with this condition consisted of impaired swallowing (retention, defective insalivation, presence of food debris in the left hemibuccal space, loss of saliva from the left side of the mouth, and choking); loss of the ability to perceive salty, sweet, or acid tastes; and impaired buccal representation. These problems were usually incorrectly diagnosed initially. Outcome was usually favorable, but functional disorders persisted in some patients for more than 18 months. The underlying attention and representation mechanisms are discussed with reference to experimental lesions of the postarcuate (area 6) cortex in rhesus monkeys. The area around the mouth may be considered to be, as in monkeys, a peripersonal space, ie, probably of little functional importance. The lesion may involve area 6 or its projections to the thalamus or posterior parietal cortex. CONCLUSIONS: Buccal hemineglect, which is likely to cause social embarrassment, should be considered whenever the oral phase of swallowing is impaired in a context of neglect syndromes. Prophylactic measures and rehabilitation can reduce the impact and complications of the condition (food bolus).

Adult↗
PubMed2001

Acute anosmia in the mouse: behavioral discrimination among the four basic taste substances.

The importance of taste and smell in discrimination of tastes was examined in normal and anosmic mice. We studied the influence of olfaction on taste sensation using behavioral and electrophysiological methods in both normal animals and animals made anosmic mice by destroying their olfactory receptor cells with zinc sulfate (ZnSO(4)) solution. Electrophysiological responses from chorda tympani nerves showed that peripheral taste receptor cells transmitted taste signals normally to the central nervous system, even when the olfactory senses were abnormal. Behavioral observations showed that mice with abnormal olfaction could not differentiate tastes.

Animals↗
PubMed1998

Biology of taste buds and the clinical problem of taste loss.

Taste buds are the anatomical structures that mediate the sense of taste. They comprise taste cells and nerve fibers within specialized epithelial structures. Taste cells are traditionally described by histologic methods as basal, dark, intermediate, and light cells, with the nerve fibers surrounding and infiltrating the taste buds. By means of immunohistochemical methods, taste cells and gustatory nerve fibers can be classified in functional groups based on the expression of various cell adhesion molecules and other proteins. When taste buds become damaged, the loss of the ability to taste results. This loss is not uncommon and can impact health and quality of life. Patients who receive radiation therapy for head and neck cancer often experience taste loss, which leads to compromised nutritional intake and a worse outcome than patients who do not experience taste loss. The mode of radiation damage to taste cells and nerve fibers has been investigated using cell adhesion molecules, synaptic vesicle proteins, and other cell markers. The light and intermediate cells are preferentially affected by ionizing radiation, whereas the nerve fibers remain structurally intact. Experimental studies of radiation-induced taste loss are performed via a unique animal/human model.

Ageusia↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Symptom profile of nasopharyngeal cancer patients during radiation therapy.

PURPOSE: This prospective, longitudinal study was aimed to describe the prevalence, severity, and pattern of symptoms over the course of radiation therapy in persons with nasopharyngeal carcinoma and to explore symptom severity by treatment modality. DESCRIPTION OF STUDY: Thirty-seven patients completed this study, and 46% received chemotherapy before radiation therapy. A self-reported radiation symptom checklist and an objective mucositis assessment tool were used weekly to document oropharyngeal, skin, nose or ear, or more general side effects, and mucositis. RESULTS: Oropharyngeal problems were the most severe complaints during radiation therapy. All patients experienced dry mouth, taste change, difficulty in swallowing, difficulty in opening their mouths, hoarseness, sore throat, and observable mucositis. Most reported moderate-to-severe dry mouth, difficulty in swallowing, and sore throat from weeks 3 through 7. Skin problems were not prominent until week 4. Patients also lost an average of 3.9 kg during the therapy. Sequential chemotherapy and radiation therapy was associated with more severe oropharyngeal problems than radiation therapy alone, but no significant differences in other problems were found. CLINICAL IMPLICATIONS: Despite recognition of the oropharyngeal side effects associated with irradiation, effective management protocols for such symptoms have not been implemented in the studied institution. The frequency and intensity of the symptoms reported indicate an urgent need for increased vigilance about radiation-related side effects and pain management. As well, patient education about expected side effects may help mitigate the anxiety that patients experience when these symptoms occur.

Adult↗
PubMed2006

Evaluation, prevention and management of radiotherapy-induced xerostomia in head and neck cancer patients.

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: As part of the multidisciplinary approach to head and neck cancer patients, radiation therapy plays an essential role, improving locoregional control. Radiation therapy-induced xerostomia is a late side-effect that increases the risk for developing dental caries and compromises oral mucosal integrity, resulting in oral pain, loss of taste, difficulties with swallowing and chewing, sleep disorders and worse quality of life. This review focuses on evaluation, prevention and management of radiation therapy-induced xerostomia. RECENT FINDINGS: In terms of xerostomia prevention, some clinical trials evaluating amifostine and intensity-modulated radiation therapy have shown positive results. Pilocarpine is a useful agent as a treatment of radiation-induced xerostomia in head and neck cancer patients. SUMMARY: Despite some advances in radiation therapy-induced xerostomia prevention, its treatment is an area in which advances are urgently needed.

Amifostine↗
PubMed2006

Increased olfactory sensitivity in euthymic patients with bipolar disorder with event-related episodes compared with patients with bipolar disorder without such episodes.

OBJECTIVE: Some patients with bipolar disorder experience mood episodes following emotional life events, whereas others do not. There is evidence that orbitofrontal hypoactivity may be related to this, because the orbitofrontal cortex is involved in the regulation of emotional and behavioural responses to external events. The close anatomical and functional connection between the orbitofrontal cortex and olfactory processing suggests that patients with bipolar disorder and heightened emotional reactivity may exhibit altered olfactory function compared with patients with bipolar disorder who do not exhibit this sensitivity. METHODS: In this pilot study, olfactory function was assessed in patients with bipolar disorder and a history of event-triggered episodes (n = 7) and in patients with bipolar disorder without such a history (n = 9) at the Department of Psychiatry and the Taste and Smell Clinic of the University of Dresden, Germany. Each patient's bipolar disorder was in remission at study entry, and they were on monotherapy with mood stabilizers. Assessment included olfactory event-related potentials (ERP) and psychophysical tests for odour threshold, odour identification and olfactory quality discrimination. RESULTS: Odour thresholds were lower in patients with bipolar disorder and event-triggered episodes compared with the other patient group. In addition, patients with event-triggered episodes exhibited shorter N1 peak latencies of the olfactory ERP. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings indicate disinhibition of orbitofrontal areas involved in the processing of emotional events in a subset of patients with bipolar illness.

Adult↗