The finding, published this Wednesday in the journal Science Translational Medicine, explains how a problem affecting millions of people around the world finally emerged after contracting COVID-19.
The research also sheds light on the possible underlying causes of other persistent Covid-19 symptoms, such as general fatigue, shortness of breath or poor concentration, which the researchers say may be caused by similar biological mechanisms.
“One of the first symptoms commonly associated with a Covid-19 infection is a loss of smell,” said Bradley Goldstein, the study’s lead author. Fortunately, many people regain their sense of smell within a week or two, while others do not.” , a neurobiology researcher at Duke University (North Carolina, USA).
“We wanted to better understand why some people experience permanent loss of smell months or years after infection,” he explains.
Covid-19: You discover that loss of smell is caused by inflammation
Together with scientists from Harvard and the University of California-San Diego, the Duke team analyzed olfactory epithelial samples from 24 biopsies, including those from nine patients with permanent loss of smell.
The analysis showed widespread infiltration of T cells involved in an inflammatory response in the olfactory epithelium, the nasal tissue that contains neurons responsible for smell.
The inflammatory process continued after infection and the number of olfactory neurons decreased, possibly due to sensitive tissue damage from ongoing inflammation.
For Goldstein: “The results are fantastic. It almost looks like a kind of autoimmune process in the nose.”
Note: According to a study, 80% of Covid-19 patients lose their sense of smell.
Goldstein believes knowing which areas are damaged and which cell types are involved is key to starting treatment development.
In addition, the team finds it encouraging that neurons retain some ability to recover even after an immune attack.
“We hope that modulating abnormal immune responses or repair processes in the nose of these patients can help restore at least some of their sense of smell,” he says.
He says the results of this study could also be useful for further research into other long-term covid-19 symptoms that may be caused by similar inflammatory processes.
Source: Ultimahora
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Karen Clayton is a seasoned journalist and author at The Nation Update, with a focus on world news and current events. She has a background in international relations, which gives her a deep understanding of the political, economic and social factors that shape the global landscape. She writes about a wide range of topics, including conflicts, political upheavals, and economic trends, as well as humanitarian crisis and human rights issues.
