Role of body weight and sex in the olfactory and gustatory pleasantness, intensity, and familiarity of a lipid‐rich food

Abstract In this study, the role of sex and body weight in the olfactory and gustatory dimensions (pleasantness, intensity, and familiarity) of mullet cured roes, a marine rich-fat food with peculiar sensory attributes, was evaluated. One hundred seventy-seven participants were enrolled. Positive correlations were observed between all food taste and odor dimensions. Women reported a significantly higher odor and taste intensity ratings than men. Multivariate linear regression analyses evidenced that body weight in women was negatively correlated to the food odor and taste pleasantness and positively correlated to odor intensity. These negative correlations were due to different women gustatory performance in relation to body weight. A significantly lower perception of salty and bitter taste was observed in women with a body weight >60 kg compared to those with a body weight ≤60 kg. Our results underline the important role of sex and body weight in the food products sensory evaluation

Role of Aromatic Herbs and Spices in Salty Perception of Patients with Hyposmia

Herbs and spices represent a possibility for the improvement of anosmia and ageusia. In this work we evaluated the role of Mediterranean aromatic herbs and spices in the salty taste perception of patients with hyposmia compared to healthy controls. To this goal, the salty taste perception in response to pure salt and different types of commercial flavored sea salt was assessed in patients with hyposmia, with or without a post-acute coronavirus syndrome, and healthy controls. Myrtle berries and leaves, a mixture of Mediterranean herbs and plants such as helichrysum, rosemary, liquorice, fennel seeds and myrtle leaves, oranges and saffron were used as salt flavoring ingredients. Differences in gustatory perception between 57 patients with hyposmia and 91 controls were evaluated considering the rate of the gustatory dimensions of pleasantness, intensity, and familiarity, using a 7-point hedonic Likert-type scale. At a dose of 0.04 g/mL, saline solutions of flavored salts, with an average 15% less NaCl, were perceived by patients with hyposmia as equally intense but less familiar than pure salt solution, with similar scores in the pleasantness dimension. Our study highlighted the central role of Mediterranean aromatic plants in the enhancement of salty perception in patients with hyposmia

Olfactory Function as a Potential Predictor of Cognitive Impairment in Men and Women

Background: Different previous studies indicated olfactory function as a predictor of several types of cognitive impairment, in particular related to neurodegenerative disease. However, scanty data are available on the role of odor threshold (OT), odor discrimination (OD), and odor identification (OI) as a predictor of cognitive impairment. The aim of this study was to evaluate potential correlations between each factor of the olfactory function versus each specific cognitive domain of the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) test on healthy subjects in relation to gender and age. Methods: Sniffin’ Sticks and MoCA tests were used to determine olfactory function and cognitive abilities, respectively. Results: In men, significant correlations were found in OT versus language index score and OI versus language and executive index score, while in women, OD and OI were correlated to visuospatial index score. Conclusions: Our data suggested that olfactory function (OT, OD, and OI) may be considered a predictor for cognitive impairment in relation to gender and age

Qualitative smell/taste disorders as sequelae of acute COVID-19

Background Qualitative smell/taste disorders (such as phantosmia, parosmia, phantogeusia, and parageusia) have not yet been fully characterized in patients who had COVID-19, whereas quantitative disturbances (i.e., reduction/loss of smell/taste) have been widely investigated. Objective To simultaneously assess the presence of both quantitative and qualitative smell/taste dysfunctions in patients who suffered from COVID-19. Methods We enrolled 17 consecutive patients who suffered from COVID-19 over the last 6 months and 21 healthy controls, matched for sex and age. After a negative nasopharyngeal swab, the Sniffin’ Sticks Test and the Taste Strips were used to assess olfactory and taste function, respectively. At the same time, the presence of phantosmia, parosmia, phantogeusia, and parageusia was investigated with a standardized questionnaire. Results Qualitative disturbances of smell and/or taste were found in 6/17 (35.3%) patients. Phantosmia was reported in 2/17 (11.8%) patients and parosmia in 4/17 (23.5%). There were no significant differences in smell test scores between patients who reported phantosmia and/or parosmia and patients who did not. Phantogeusia was described in 3/17 (17.6%) patients, and parageusia was identified in 4/17 (23.5%) patients. All tested patients were normogeusic. Conclusion Around one-third of patients who recover from COVID-19 may have persistent qualitative dysfunction in smell/taste domains. Detection of phantogeusia in long-term COVID-19 patients represents a further novel finding. Further investigation is needed to better characterize the pathophysiology of phantosmia, parosmia, phantogeusia, and parageusia in patients who had COVID-19

Frequency and Determinants of Olfactory Hallucinations in Parkinson’s Disease Patients

Background: Olfactory dysfunctions and hallucinations are considered common nonmotor symptoms in Parkinson’s disease (PD). Visual and auditory hallucinations are well-known; however, olfactory hallucinations (OHs) are not fully investigated. The aim of this study was to evaluate OHs in PD patients, and their correlation to motor impairment, cognitive abilities, visual and auditory hallucinations, and olfactory and gustatory function. Methods: A sample of 273 patients was enrolled: 141 PD patients (mean age SD: 70.1 9.5 years) and 132 healthy controls (mean age SD: 69.4 9.6 years). In all patients, the following parameters were evaluated: motor symptoms (UPDRSIII), olfactory function, cognitive abilities, and occurrence of OH, gustatory hallucinations (GHs), and visual/auditory hallucinations. Results: OHs were found only in PD patients with a percentage of 11.3%. Among PD patients with OHs, 2.8% also presented GHs. High significant frequencies of females, the presence of visual/auditory hallucinations, and a high mean UPDRS-III score were found in patients with OHs related to patients without them. Binary logistic regression evidenced the presence of visual/auditory hallucinations and sex as main variables predicting the presence of OHs. Conclusions: Our data indicated that OHs occur frequently in PD patients, especially in women, and often concomitant with visual and auditory hallucinations, without any association with olfactory impairment

Iron capture through CD71 drives perinatal and tumor-associated Treg expansion

: Beside suppressing immune responses, regulatory T cells (Tregs) maintain tissue homeostasis and control systemic metabolism. Whether iron is involved in Treg-mediated tolerance is completely unknown. Here, we showed that the transferrin receptor CD71 was upregulated on activated Tregs infiltrating human liver cancer. Mice with a Treg-restricted CD71 deficiency spontaneously developed a scurfy-like disease, caused by impaired perinatal Treg expansion. CD71-null Tregs displayed decreased proliferation and tissue-Treg signature loss. In perinatal life, CD71 deficiency in Tregs triggered hepatic iron overload response, characterized by increased hepcidin transcription and iron accumulation in macrophages. Lower bacterial diversity, and reduction of beneficial species, were detected in the fecal microbiota of CD71 conditional knock-out neonates. Our findings indicate that CD71-mediated iron absorption is required for Treg perinatal expansion and related to systemic iron homeostasis and bacterial gut colonization. Therefore, we hypothesize that Tregs establish nutritional tolerance through competition for iron during bacterial colonization after birth

Multiple non-species-specific pathogens possibly triggered the mass mortality in Pinna nobilis

The fan mussel, Pinna nobilis, represents the largest bivalve endemic to the Mediterranean Sea. Since 2016, dramatic mass mortality of this species has been observed in several areas. The first surveys suggested that Haplosporidium pinnae (currently considered species-specific) was the main etiological agent, but recent studies have indicated that a multifactorial disease may be responsible for this phenomenon. In this study, we performed molecular diagnostic analyses on P. nobilis, P. rudis, and bivalve heterologous host species from the island of Sardinia to shed further light on the pathogens involved in the mass mortality. The results support the occurrence of a multifactorial disease and that Mycobacterium spp. and H. pinnae are not necessarily associated with the illness. Indeed, our analyses revealed that H. pinnae is not species-specific for P. nobilis, as it was present in other bivalves at least three years before the mass mortality began, and species of Mycobacterium were also found in healthy individuals of P. nobilis and P. rudis. We also detected the species Rhodococcus erythropolis, representing the first report in fan mussels of a bacterium other than Mycobacterium spp. and Vibrio spp. These results depict a complicated scenario, further demonstrating how the P. nobilis mass mortality event is far from being fully understoo

Correlation between olfactory function, age, sex, and cognitive reserve index in the Italian population

Purpose: Loss of smell decreases the quality of life and contributes to the failure in recognizing hazardous substances. Given the relevance of olfaction in daily life, it is important to recognize an undiagnosed olfactory dysfunction to prevent these possible complications. Up to now, the prevalence of smell disorders in Italy is unknown due to a lack of epidemiological studies. Hence, the primary aim of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of olfactory dysfunction in a sample of Italian adults. Methods: Six hundred and thirty-three participants (347 woman and 286 men; mean age 44.9 years, SD 17.3, age range 18-86) were recruited from 10 distinct Italian regions. Participants were recruited using a convenience sapling and were divided into six different age groups: 18-29 years (N = 157), 30-39 years (N = 129), 40-49 years (N = 99), 50-59 years (N = 106), > 60 years (N = 142). Olfactory function, cognitive abilities, cognitive reserve, and depression were assessed, respectively, with: Sniffin' Sticks 16-item Odor Identification Test, Montreal Cognitive Assessment, Cognitive Reserve Index, and the Beck Depression Inventory. Additionally, socio-demographic data, medical history, and health-related lifestyle information were collected. Results: About 27% of participants showed an odor identification score < 12 indicating hyposmia. Multiple regression analysis revealed that OI was significantly correlated with age, sex, and cognitive reserve index, and young women with high cognitive reserve index showing the highest olfactory scores. Conclusion: This study provides data on the prevalence of olfactory dysfunction in different Italian regions

Differences in taste perception in hyposmic patients compared to healthy controls

Introduction: Olfactory deficits inhibit flavor perception and influences food intake. The aim of the study was to evaluate the role of hyposmia on the taste perception in patients compared to healthy controls. Materials and Methods: One hundred forty-eight subjects were enrolled, 57(35 women and 22 men) were hyposmic patients (mean age±SD, 35.7 ± 14.1) and 91 (62 women and 29 men) were healthy controls (mean age±SD, 31.4 ± 13.6). Among hyposmic subjects, 23 (40%) showed a post-acute Coronavirus (COVID-19) Syndrome. Olfactory function was assessed with the Sniffin’ Sticks Extended Test which evaluated odor Threshold (OT), Discrimination (OD), Identification (OI) and their sum Threshold-Discrimination-Identification (TDI) scores. Whereas gustatory function was evaluated using the Taste strips test with four concentrations for each modality: sweet, bitter, sour, and salty. Results: Hyposmic patients showed a significant decrease in the perception of salty, sweet, sour and in the total taste perception compared to controls, while no significant differences for bitter perception were found. Moreover, significant correlations were observed between TDI score versus salty (r=0.285, p<0.01), sweet (r=0.243, p<0.01), and sour perception (r=0.321, p<0.01). In order to confirm these correlations multivariate linear regression analyses were performed using TDI score as a dependent variable. Significant associations emerged between TDI score versus salty (p<0.01) and sour perception (p<0.01). This model explained 19% of variance (R2 = 0.188) for the salty and taste perception. In hyposmic subjects with a post-acute Coronavirus (COVID-19) Syndrome a significant decrease only in bitter perception (p<0.05) was observed. Conclusions: Patients with hyposmia reported alterations of salty and sour taste preference. In particular, patients reported lower perception of salty and sour compared to controls as consequence of the damage of flavor perception