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Decreasing nasal mucus Ca++ improves hyposmia
Georgios Panagiotopoulos1, Stefanos Naxakis, Antonios Papavasiliou
1ENT Department, 401 General Military Hospital of Athens, Greece. gporl@hotmail.com
Rhinology
|July 13, 2005
Summary
Altering nasal calcium levels can significantly improve olfactory sensitivity. This study found that most patients with smell loss experienced enhanced olfactory acuity after a simple nasal treatment, suggesting calcium
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Otolaryngology
Background:
- Cytoplasmic calcium (Ca++) is known to regulate cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) sensitivity.
- Mucosal Ca++ may also modulate cAMP sensitivity in vivo, potentially affecting olfactory receptor neuron excitability.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the impact of minor changes in mucosal Ca++ on olfactory sensitivity.
- To determine if modulating mucosal Ca++ can alter olfactory acuity in patients with olfactory loss.
Main Methods:
- Thirty-one patients with olfactory loss were enrolled.
- Olfactory acuity was measured before and after administering a sodium citrate buffer solution into the nasal cleft.
- Changes in mucosal Ca++ levels were induced by the buffer solution.
Main Results:
- A significant improvement in olfactory scores was observed in 30 out of 31 patients (96.8%) within one hour.
- 23 patients (74.2%) reported a noticeable improvement in their sense of smell.
Conclusions:
- Modulating mucosal calcium levels can rapidly enhance olfactory sensitivity.
- Sodium citrate buffer administration offers a potential therapeutic approach for improving smell dysfunction.