Loss of smell and Covid infection

Interesting to read about ongoing research into loss/change of smell and Covid. This is something that has affected me, always had a very good nose and I've lost so much sense of smell, can hardly smell the likes of my various colognes and it's only over the last about 4 weeks I have started to be able to smell when the cat uses her litter tray for a number 2 when I'm in the same room! I had Covid last November.

I find it amazing what long term significant harm the various can cause.

https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-022-01589-z

"...Since then, clues have emerged about what happens to the olfactory neurons after infection. Researchers including biochemist Stavros Lomvardas at Columbia University in New York City examined people who had died from COVID-19 and found that, although their neurons were intact, they had fewer membrane-embedded receptors for detecting odour molecules than usual...."

...There is also evidence of lasting changes to the brain for people with smell loss. In a study published in March6, 785 people in the United Kingdom had their brains scanned twice. About 400 people became infected with COVID-19 between scans, so the scientists were able to observe structural changes. The COVID-19 survivors showed multiple changes, including markers of tissue damage in areas linked to the brain’s olfactory centre. It’s not clear why this was the case, but one possibility is lack of input. “When we cut off input from the nose, the brain atrophies,” says Danielle Reed, a geneticist also at Monell. “It’s one of the clearest things we know about taste and smell....

via International Skeptics Forum https://ift.tt/2HfmC8e