A new study has revealed loss of smell Inflammation is associated with approximately 140 medical conditions and includes conditions related to aging and menopause, and therefore, can be an early sign of neurological and physical diseases. The study was published in the journal Frontiers in Molecular Neuroscience.

Inflammation is a natural response of the immune system to injury, infection, or harmful response. It acts as a protective mechanism intended to remove harmful agents and help repair tissues. When you have inflammation, your body releases immune cells and blood flow to the affected area increases.

The study’s researchers say the results highlight the role that our sense of smell plays in maintaining physical and mental health. “The data are particularly interesting because we previously found that olfactory (smell-related) enrichment can improve memory in older adults,” said Michael Lyon, professor emeritus at the University of California-Irvine, US, and lead author of the study. Up to 226 percent.”

“We now know that pleasant scents can reduce inflammation, potentially pointing to a mechanism by which such scents may improve brain health,” Lyons said.

The researchers say the findings could have implications for addressing symptoms and possibly reducing the onset of certain diseases by treating one’s sense of smell, which often precedes aging-related conditions such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases. Can.

For the study, researchers tracked 139 medical conditions related to both loss of smell and increased inflammation, which revealed insights into the shared pathways between the two symptoms. Given that linking smell loss with a wide range of disorders is complex, it was difficult to track studies of multiple medical conditions, Lyon said.

The majority of studies (9,000) looked at by the team were related to long-term COVID smell loss, while about 2,000 looked at olfactory loss due to aging-related memory loss. About 3,900 studies explored smell loss in menopause and 3,500 were related to smell loss in depression.

“Olfactory loss co-occurs with at least 139 neurological, somatic, and congenital/hereditary conditions,” the study authors wrote.

“Mechanisms that may underlie the association between medical conditions and olfactory loss include inflammation as well as neuroanatomical and environmental factors, and all 139 medical conditions listed here are also associated with inflammation.”

The researchers said their findings on how rehabilitating one’s sense of smell could potentially address inflammation lay the groundwork for future studies aimed at exploring the use of smell in treating a variety of medical conditions. Have to put it.

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