Loss of smell was a recurring symptom among Covid-19 patients at the beginning of the pandemic. For most of them, sense returned a week or two after infection. Some people, however, are still living with the inability to smell months or years after being infected with the virus.
In a study published this Wednesday (12/21), in the journal Science Translational Medicine, a group of American scientists reveals new evidence about the possible cause of the problem. According to them, prolonged loss of smell is linked to an ongoing immune response that destroys cells in the nose.
Doctors from Duke Health, Harvard Medical School and the University of California-San Diego, all in the United States, analyzed samples of nose tissue that contains nerve cells – the olfactory epithelium – from 24 people diagnosed with Covid-19, including nine who still had a loss of smell at least four months after infection.
They found that patients with persistent loss of smell had excess T cells accumulated in the olfactory epithelium. Involved in the body’s immune response to the coronavirus, the defense cells ended up causing an exacerbated inflammatory response that, in some patients, persisted until the coronavirus was no longer detected at the site.
Furthermore, the number of olfactory sensory neurons decreased, possibly due to tissue damage during inflammation.
“The findings are impressive. It’s almost similar to some kind of autoimmune process in the nose,” explained Professor Bradley Goldstein, Department of Head and Neck Surgery and Communication Sciences at Duke and Department of Neurobiology, in a statement.
Without having a definitive name, the set of symptoms that continue after the cure of the coronavirus infection is called Post-Covid Syndrome, long Covid, persistent Covid or prolonged Covid freepik
***Sick childCases in which the symptoms of the infection last for more than 4 weeks are called long Covid. In addition, some other patients even recover quickly, but have long-term problems. Pixabay
*** sick childOne of the most recent and comprehensive articles on the subject is from a group of universities in the United States, Mexico and Sweden. The researchers selected the most relevant publications about prolonged Covid around the world and identified 55 main symptoms iStock
***Covid-Flu-Omicron-DeltaAmong the 47,910 patients who participated in the studies, the five main symptoms detected were: fatigue, headache, difficulty paying attention, hair loss and difficulty breathing. Getty Images
***Covid-Flu-Omicron-Delta-3Prolonged Covid is also common after mild and moderate versions of the infection, without the patient requiring hospitalization. About 80% of people who caught the disease still had some symptoms at least two weeks after the virus was cured.freepik
***covid longIn addition, one of the studies analyzed points out that fatigue after the coronavirus is more common among women, as well as hair loss.metropolises
***anxiety-isolation-pandemic-syndrome-healthExperts believe that the long Covid may be a ′′ second wave ′′ of the damage caused by the virus in the body. The initial infection causes some people’s immune systems to go into overdrive, attacking not just the virus but the body’s own tissues. Getty Images
***elderly-covid-ômicron-hospitalization-healthFor now, there is still no adequate treatment for this clinical condition that appears after recovery from Covid-19. The main focus is on symptom control and gradually increasing day-to-day activitiesGetty Images
***photo-covid-longDespite a complete recovery from the disease, recent studies at the University of Washington in Saint Louis, in the United States, warn that anyone recovered from Covid-19 may suffer complications in the year following the infection.Getty Images
***photo-covid-longData from 150,000 people who had the virus were analyzed to find the most common complications Getty Images
***photo-covid-longThe risk of having a heart attack, for example, is 63% higher for those who have already had the infection. The chance of coronary artery disease rises to 72%, and for a heart attack, 52%Getty Images
***photo-covid-longThe increase in the number of patients with depression and anxiety also draws the attention of scientists.Getty Images
Covid long(4)The study also recorded cases of Coronary Artery Disease, heart failure, blood clots, irregular heartbeats and pulmonary embolism.Getty Images
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Breakthrough for healing
For researchers, learning which sites are damaged and which types of cells are involved in this process is a key step in designing effective treatments for people who suffer from loss of smell. They believe that the discovery could also help in research on other symptoms of long-term Covid, such as shortness of breath, chronic fatigue and difficulty concentrating.
“We are hopeful that modulating the abnormal immune response or repair processes in these patients’ noses could help restore, at least partially, their sense of smell,” says Goldstein.
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