Hi goog44,
I'd like to direct your attention to the disclaimer at the bottom of
this page.
"Important Disclaimer: Answers and comments provided on Google Answers
are general information, and are not intended to substitute for
informed professional medical, psychiatric, psychological, tax, legal,
investment, accounting, or other professional advice."
I am not a doctor or health care provider. As always, it's best to
get information and advice from your family doctor who can refer you
to a specialist.
On a personal note: My grandmother (who lived to be 103) suffered from
anosmia -although it was congenital - from birth. I clearly remember
her talking about how odd it was to not have any sense of smell.
ANOSMIA comes from the Greek; an [no] -osmia [smell]. The inability
to smell can affect the quality of life, and may lead to anxiety and
depression, and subsequent loss of appetite. It also can be quite
dangerous because of the the inability to detect smoke, or not being
able to detect rotten food which can produce food poisoning.
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How Frequent is Anosmia?
http://www.personal.ecu.edu/wuenschk/anos-freq.htm
"Most commonly it occurs after a head trauma, when the jarring of the
brain shears off the delicate axons running from the olfactory neurons
to the brain through a bony plate in the skull. In many such cases the
axons grow back, restoring smell, but the condition can be permanent."
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Dr. Karl L. Wuensch Ph.D. is an experimental psychologist who suffers
from anosmia. Because of his condition, he has assembled much valuable
information.
At the bottom of the following page you'll find many links re:
anosmia
Welcome to the Anosmia Links Page of Dr. Karl L. Wuensch (Ph.D.)
http://personal.ecu.edu/wuenschk/anosmia.htm
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A more technical explanation on ANOSMIA by Helen Gatcum and Tim Jacob
Copyright Ó 2001 T.J.C. Jacob. All rights reserved
http://www.cf.ac.uk/biosi/staff/jacob/Anosmia/content.html#Causes
"ii) Head trauma/Post traumatic injuries
This is believed to be the highest cause of anosmia. Patients are
usually younger, between 20 and 50 years, and male, because they are
more likely to suffer head trauma..."
[edit]
The regions of the brain that are mainly affected are the frontal and
occipital lobes. The degree of olfactory impairment is related to the
extent and site of injury..."
[edit]
Indeed, head trauma can cause detachment of the olfactory filaments
from their location at the top of the cribriform plate which prevents
olfactory input signalling to the olfactory bulb..."
[edit]
Treatments
"Currently, there is no single therapeutic approach for all
aetiologies, so instead, when looking at treatments we must look at
each one independently. According to Jafek et al. (2000), "the therapy
of olfactory loss is cause specific" therefore each aetiology will be
considered separately followed by a discussion of the efficacy of each
method of treatment."
[edit]
"ii) Treatments for olfactory loss from Head trauma(HT)/Post traumatic
injuries
"As mentioned previously, the olfactory system has the ability to
regenerate. Indeed, there is the potential for recovery after a head
injury and animal studies have demonstrated that recovery is possible.
Costanzo (1985, cited from Smith and Seiden, 1991), recorded cells
from the olfactory bulb of a hamster and demonstrated recovery within
nine months. However, in humans the prognosis is much lower and the
estimated possibilities for recovery vary widely from 15% to 39%."
[edit]
"It is generally believed that this aetiology can not be treated with
drug therapy. However, approximately a third of sufferers do recover
(Duncan and Seiden, 1995) with the most likely cause being natural
regeneration of the olfactory system. The onset of regeneration
usually occurs within three months of the trauma...
[edit]
"... beyond one year then the chances of recovery are slim (Ikeda et
al., 1995). Early recovery may occur due to mechanisms such as the
disappearance of blood clots, and later recovery, due to regeneration
of neural elements..."
[edit]
"Complete recovery may take approximately five years."
[edit]
"To test the hypothesis that medications may relieve symptoms, Ikeda
et al (1995) invited seventeen patients with HT (head trauma) to take
either a topical nasal drop of 0.1% betamethasone (A) or a systemic
oral dose of prednisone (B). Three out of five from group B and only
one from group A showed signs of recovery, therefore suggesting that
topical corticosteroids are not significantly effective for treating
head trauma.
[edit]
"...have recently proposed the use of theophylline, a nonselective
phosphodiesterase (PDE) inhibitor (Beavo, 1995), as a therapeutic
approach for relieving symptoms. Four patients with hyposmia
(diminished ability to smell); one HT and three NSD, were treated for
four to six months. Theophylline acts by blocking the PDE involved in
the transduction process, therefore preventing cAMP metabolising into
AMP. Whether it can be considered as an effective therapeutic agent is
controversial because toxic side effects have been reported at doses
which are very close to therapeutic ranges..."
[edit]
"Three patients did respond to treatment whilst one did not."
[edit]
"It should be remembered that not all patients respond to the same
treatments. Jafek et al, (1987) reported a case where a patient
responded when given a combination of corticosteroids and surgery but
not when they are administered independently. This emphasises the
difficulties of patient prognosis."
"When recovery does look unlikely, then it is important that patients
develop adaptive strategies so that they can cope with personal
hygiene, appetite, safety and health. Other areas that should also be
considered are vocational, psychological and cognitive difficulties
because to some patients they can lead to great anxiety."
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Image on How Odor and Taste Signals Reach the Brain -
Illustration by Scott T. Barrows, National Geographic Society
http://www.hhmi.org/senses/popups/d110_1.html
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University of Connecticut Health Center Taste and Smell Center
http://www.uchc.edu/uconntasteandsmell/gen.html
General Information
"As of 1996, we have gathered information on over 3,000 people with
taste and/or smell problems. Over 1,000 of these individuals have
traveled to our Center for comprehensive evaluation.."
[edit]
"The two most likely causes for this are head trauma and viral
infection. Data obtained from adults show that even insignificant head
trauma can lead to permanent and total smell loss."
Head Trauma
http://www.uchc.edu/uconntasteandsmell/head.html
"Smell and/or taste problems can also be caused by trauma to the head.
Somewhere between 5% and 30% of head trauma patients will lose their
sense of smell. Taste loss is estimated to occur in 0.5% of head
trauma patients. Parosmias and dysgeusias may also occur. There is no
known treatment for chemosensory problems caused by head trauma. Some
patients will get better with time, although this may take years.
Spontaneous recovery rates of 8% to 39% have been reported for smell
function, with the majority of patients showing improvement within 3
months of injury."
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Anosmia by Sara Penn
http://hubel.sfasu.edu/courseinfo/SL02/anosmia.htm
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SPECIAL INSTRUCTIONS FOR PATIENTS WITH SMELL LOSS
http://www.uchc.edu/uconntasteandsmell/gen.html
"The ability to smell allows early detection of dangerous substances
in our environment and the loss of this sensory system places an
individual at risk. These risks can be minimized, however, by
instituting certain precautionary measures. If you have not already
done so, please make certain smoke detectors are present and
functional in your home. They should be checked every month. Also, if
you are exposed to potential gas leaks, we would encourage you to
purchase a gas detector. Information about this may be obtained
through your local gas company or a marine store (the inability to
detect smoke and/or leaking gas are two potential hazards for those
without smell function). Patients should also be exceptionally
careful with food and beverages. Refrigerated food should be
date-labeled and stored at appropriate temperatures. All food should
be inspected prior to preparation and eating. Food that looks spoiled
should be discarded. Preferably, a member of the household with an
intact smell system should check any food or beverage that is
questionable."
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Research being done at the National Institute of Health (NIH)
http://grants1.nih.gov/grants/guide/rfa-files/RFA-DC-03-002.html
National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders
(NIDCD)
STEM CELL POTENTIAL OF THE MAMMALIAN OLFACTORY EPITHELIUM
"The partial or complete loss of smell (anosmia) affects
approximately 2.5 million people and poses serious health risks as the
presence of rancid food, toxic odors and smoke often go undetected.
The loss
of smell adversely affects the perceived flavor of foods, which
impacts on
diet and nutrition, especially in the elderly."
[edit]
"Olfactory receptor neurons are exposed to the external environment
and are
susceptible to toxic airborne chemicals, infectious pathogens and
physical
damage following frontal head trauma. Olfactory receptor neurons are
ordinarily replaced periodically throughout life and also have the
capacity
to proliferate..."
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CLINICS for treatment of olfactory disorders
http://www.cf.ac.uk/biosi/staff/jacob/Anosmia/clinics.html
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Google Search:
head trauma anosmia
anmosia research
loss of smell head trauma
anmosia treatment head injury
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Best regards,
tlspiegel |
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