Editor's Choice Main Category: Ear, Nose and Throat Also Included In: Genetics Article Date: 03 Sep 2012 - 11:00 PDT

Current ratings for: New Discovery Offers Hope For People Who Can't Smell

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The experts believe that fixing congenital anosmia, which is medical language for not being able to smell anything, may eventually lead to curing similar medical issues which also come from the cilia or small hair-like pieces which reside on the outside of cells and are present in diseases involving the kidneys, eyes, and other parts of the body.

According to the report, it may take a while for the evidence to be able to help humans and it will eventually be extremely significant for individuals who have lost the ability to smell because of some type of medical problem, and not so much for people who can't smell because of trauma to the nose, or simply old age. However, the new findings help researchers to understand anosmia on the cellular level, which gives hope to anyone who does not have a sense of smell that someday their ability to smell may be restored.

Jeffery Martens, Ph.D., senior author of the study commented:

The rodents involved in the study possessed some genetic defect that affected a protein named IFT88. This defect made the individuals have less- than-normal amounts of cilia in their bodies. When this problem occurs in mice, it results in early death and poor feeding habits, while for humans it can be fatal.

IFT88 genes were implanted into the cells in the mice when the researchers gave them a common cold virus which had plenty of normal DNA. This made it easy for the virus to infect them, and therefore, the researchers could insert the virus into the cells of the mice.

After this, the experts were able to analyze the feeding habits of the mice, as well as how they were growing, and the neuron signals which assist in the smelling process.

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New Discovery Offers Hope For People Who Can't Smell

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