Evaluation of Culturally-Familiar Odorants for a Persian Smell Identification Test.

INTRODUCTION: Processing odor information by the olfactory system depends greatly on the odor concentration. In order to use an odorant in a smell identification test (SIT), the minimum identification concentration (MIC) needs to be determined. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This study was conducted in 60 healthy native individuals aged 20 to 60 years, selected from patients' companions in a tertiary hospital. In the first step, 25 odorants were presented to evaluate familiarity among the subjects. Then, the MICs for the eligible odorants were measured using the ascending method of limits. RESULTS: Out of 25 odorants, only one (cacao) was distinguished by less than 70% of the subjects, and was therefore removed from the list. The MICs of the remaining 24 odorants ranged from 6.87±2.74% for menthol to 27.62±18.98% for cantaloupe. There was significant correlation between age and the MIC only for coffee (P=0.02, r=-0.300). There was a significant difference in MIC between men and women only for hazelnut (P=0.03). CONCLUSION: We present the MICs of 24 culturally-familiar odorants in a sample of the Persian population in a SIT.

Does Opium Dependency Affect the Pattern of Involvement in Laryngeal Cancer?

INTRODUCTION: Laryngeal cancer is the second most common cancer involving the respiratory tract, second only to lung cancer. Previous studies have shown opium dependency to be a possible risk factor for laryngeal cancer. Opium consumption is a major problem in some parts of the world. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of opium consumption on the pattern of involvement in laryngeal cancer. METHODS AND MATERIALS: In this analytical cross-sectional study, 44 patients diagnosed with laryngeal cancer (41 male and three female) were studied. Data were collected using a questionnaire, physical examination, and paraclinical studies. Patients were defined as opium dependent based on the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (Fourth Edition) (DSM-IV) criteria and duration of opium consumption. RESULTS: Patients were categorized into two groups: opium-dependent (32.6%) and non-opium-dependent (67.4%) patients. The average age of the patients was 58.5±3.2 years in the opium-dependent group and 60.7±2.8 years in the non-opium-dependent group (P=non-significant). An analysis of the pattern of involvement in each group showed glottis involvement in 56%, subglottis involvement in 8%, supraglottis involvement in 32%, and hypopharyngeal involvement in 4% of the opium-dependent group compared with glottis involvement in 55.9%, subglottis involvement in 11.8%, supraglottis involvement in 32.4%, and hypopharyngeal involvement in none of the non-opium-dependent group (P=non-significant). CONCLUSION: There was a poor correlation between opium dependency and pattern of involvement in laryngeal cancer. Opium dependency did not lead to the development of laryngeal cancer at a younger age, based on our study.