It's been a couple years since the world learned the word "anosmia," so here's some updates:
(but don't forget this post about how parosmia worked with covid)
The first mass screening system for COVID cases has been developed with a sensitivity of 97%
Dec 2022, phys.org
Washing your hands with hydroalcoholic gel, smelling it and using a QR code to answer a short questionnaire. These very simple actions make up the world's first patented mass screening system for COVID cases.Citrus fruits and apples are two of the first aromas that people with the SARS-CoV-2 virus stop detecting.
"Citrus" -- I don't remember seeing this at all, so I looked further into the report: "Based on the literature and habits of our Mediterranean study population, it was determined that the most suitable odoriferous substance was lemon." via Institute for Research in Fundamental Sciences in Iran and R DOty at U Penn: Moein, S. T. et al. Smell dysfunction: A biomarker for COVID-19. Int. Forum Allergy Rhinol. 10, 944–950 (2020). https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32301284/ -- This study used the University of Pennsylvania Smell Identification Test (UPSIT) which has 40 odorants; I can't read the paper because paywall, but I guess "citrus" or "lemon" is one of those odors. The paper wasn't meant to find the most prevalent non-detectable odor, but I guess it was just sitting there in the data?
"The antigen tests on the market have an average sensitivity of 80%, which means that the number of false negatives is 20%. What we have developed is not a diagnostic test, but a screening system that aims to detect the maximum possible number of positives and prevent false negatives," explained the researchers.
via Youcef Azeli et al, A machine learning COVID-19 mass screening based on symptoms and a simple olfactory test, Scientific Reports (2022). DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-19817-x
Image credit: Stainless steel climate chamber at the Technical University of Denmark, Mikal Schlosser, 2022
Loss of smell following COVID linked to a person's immune reaction to the infection
Dec 2022, phys.org
They studied antibody levels in people infected during the early days of the pandemic—in all, they studied blood samples of 306 people who had donated blood for study after recovering from a COVID-19 infection. In comparing the antibody levels with other data provided by the donors and their doctors, the researchers determined that those people who had higher antibody levels tended to be the same people who had reported losing their sense of smell or taste. They found that such patients were twice as likely to lose one or the other sense as those who did not have higher-than-average levels of antibodies in their blood.
via Columbia University Irving Medical Center, the University of Pennsylvania, the National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism and the New York State Psychiatric Institute: Jonathan B. Overdevest et al, Chemosensory deficits are best predictor of serologic response among individuals infected with SARS-CoV-2, PLOS ONE (2022). DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0274611
Scientists find key reason why loss of smell occurs in long COVID-19
Dec 2022, phys.org
The reason some people fail to recover their sense of smell after COVID-19 is linked to an ongoing immune assault on olfactory nerve cells and an associated decline in the number of those cells, a team of scientists led by Duke Health report.
via Duke University Medical Center: John Finlay et al, Persistent post-COVID-19 smell loss is associated with immune cell infiltration and altered gene expression in olfactory epithelium, Science Translational Medicine (2022). DOI: 10.1126/scitranslmed.add0484.
Post Script:
Nasal injections could treat long-term COVID-19–related smell loss
Jan 2023, phys.org
Using injections of platelet-rich plasma derived from a patient's own blood. In a trial of 26 participants, those who received the treatment were 12.5 times more likely to improve than patients who received placebo injections."It's a nerve damage and nerve regeneration issue that we're dealing with," she said.
via Stanford: Carol H. Yan et al, Use of platelet‐rich plasma for COVID‐19–related olfactory loss: a randomized controlled trial, International Forum of Allergy & Rhinology (2022). DOI: 10.1002/alr.23116
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