Integrating the Patient's Voice into the Research Agenda for Treatment of Chemosensory Disorders.

World-wide some 658 million people were infected with COVID-19 and millions suffer from chemosensory impairment associated with long COVID. Current treatments for taste and smell disorders are limited. Involving patients has the potential to catalyze the dynamic exchange and development of new ideas and approaches to facilitate biomedical research and therapeutics. We assessed patients' perceptions of the efficacy of treatments for chemosensory impairment using an online questionnaire completed by 5,815 people in the U.S. Logistic regression determined variables predictive of reported treatment efficacy for patients aged 18-24, 25-39, 40-60 and 60+ yrs. who were treated with nasal steroids, oral steroids, zinc, nasal rinse, smell training, theophylline, platelet rich plasma, and Omega 3. The most consistent predictor was age, with the majority of those 40-60 and 60+ reporting that nasal steroids, oral steroids, zinc, nasal rinse and smell training were only slightly effective or not effective at all. Many of these treatment strategies target regeneration and immune response, processes compromised by age. Only those under 40 reported more than slight efficacy of steroids or smell training. Findings emphasize the need to include patients of all ages in clinical trials. Older adults with olfactory impairment are at increased risk for Alzheimer's disease (AD). We speculate that olfactory impairment associated with long COVID introduces the potential for a significant rise in AD. Long COVID-associated chemosensory impairment increases the urgency for translational and clinical research on novel treatment strategies. Suggestions for high priority areas for epidemiological, basic, and clinical research on chemosensory impairment follow.

The effect of the apolipoprotein E ε4 allele and olfactory function on odor identification networks.

INTRODUCTION: The combination of apolipoprotein E ε4 (ApoE ε4) status, odor identification, and odor familiarity predicts conversion to mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and Alzheimer's disease (AD). METHODS: To further understand olfactory disturbances and AD risk, ApoE ε4 carrier (mean age 76.38 ± 5.21) and ε4 non-carrier (mean age 76.8 ± 3.35) adults were given odor familiarity and identification tests and performed an odor identification task during fMRI scanning. Five task-related functional networks were detected using independent components analysis. Main and interaction effects of mean odor familiarity ratings, odor identification scores, and ε4 status on network activation and task-modulation of network functional connectivity (FC) during correct and incorrect odor identification (hits and misses), controlling for age and sex, were explored using multiple linear regression. RESULTS: Findings suggested that sensory-olfactory network activation was positively associated with odor identification scores in ε4 carriers with intact odor familiarity. The FC of sensory-olfactory, multisensory-semantic integration, and occipitoparietal networks was altered in ε4 carriers with poorer odor familiarity and identification. In ε4 carriers with poorer familiarity, connectivity between superior frontal areas and the sensory-olfactory network was negatively associated with odor identification scores. CONCLUSIONS: The results contribute to the clarification of the neurocognitive structure of odor identification processing and suggest that poorer odor familiarity and identification in ε4 carriers may signal multi-network dysfunction. Odor familiarity and identification assessment in ε4 carriers may contribute to the predictive value of risk for MCI and AD due to the breakdown of sensory-cognitive network integration. Additional research on olfactory processing in those at risk for AD is warranted.

The Brief Form of the California Odor Learning Test 3.

This study explored whether a Brief Form of the California Odor Learning Test 3 (COLT), an olfactory analog of the newly released Brief Form of the California Verbal Learning Test (CVLT 3), could retain the ability of the COLT to detect odor memory dysfunctions observed in normal aging. 52 participants, 28 young (18-30 years old) and 24 old (65 years of age and older), were administered the Brief Forms of the CVLT 3 and the COLT 3. Results indicated poorer performance in immediate and delayed odor recall in older than in younger adults. Poorer odor recognition memory performance in older adults than in younger adults was detected. This study suggests that the Brief Form of the COLT can detect differential odor learning and memory between young and older adults. Thus, the current brief test holds promise as a measure that can be incorporated into studies that demand a brief, non-invasive test capable of detecting impairment in olfactory function.