The Asparagus Effect

If you can’t think of any non-comedic value in that distinctly sulfurous odor of a person’s urine after they eat asparagus, you’re probably not a researcher at the Monell Chemical Senses Center.
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A Debilitating Olfactory Phobia

It may be the most common syndrome you never heard of. Sufferers of a disabling psychiatric condition called Olfactory Reference Syndrome (ORS) are convinced that they emit horrible smells and, as a result, often isolate themselves or even attempt suicide.
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New Baby Smell!

Expectant mothers leaning toward natural childbirth but not toward the pain associated with labor may find the solution right under their noses.

At Southmead Hospital in Bristol, U.K., 24 midwives have been trained to employ aromatherapy as natural pain relief for patients giving birth at the hospital and in their own homes. Bergamot, jasmine, lavender, peppermint, grapefruit, clary sage and frankincense are being mixed and administered by the midwives via massage, bath, or smelling stick.
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NIDCD Investigates the Olfactory Impact of 9/11

Attendees of this year’s NIDCD Annual Meeting of the Association for Chemoreception Sciences Conference (April 21-25 at St. Petersburg’s Tradewinds Grand Isle Resort) are in for some unusually fascinating topics. Among the headliners slated for discussion are a newly discovered area of the brain where smell and sound converge (see the Whiff-Guys’ look into Smound) and a study into the long-term olfactory effects of toxic exposure on responders to the 9/11 terrorist attack.
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Acupuncture and Olfactory Dysfunction

Traditional Chinese Acupuncture (TCA), where very thin needles are used to stimulate specific points in the body to elicit beneficial therapeutic responses, may be an effective treatment option for patients who suffer from persistent post-viral olfactory dysfunction (PVOD), according to new research in the April 2010 issue of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery.
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Good News for Bad Noses

Treatment with a glucocorticoid medication, either alone or in combination with Ginkgo biloba, appears to significantly improve the sense of smell in individuals with previous olfactory loss due to upper respiratory infections, according to a report in the October issue of Archives of Otolaryngology–Head & Neck Surgery.
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Nonanal + CO2 = Olfactory Dinner Bell

What, exactly, do mosquitos find so irresistible in our human signature scent?
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Welding Fumes Linked to Anosmia

Eye protection has always been standard safety gear for professional welders but little consideration was given to the occupational hazard of that least-appreciated of the five senses…until now. A new study by the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine has found that welders who work in enclosed spaces with poor ventilation may be at risk for loss of sense of smell.

“This is the first study to clearly demonstrate that welders who work in confined spaces without adequate respiratory protection are at risk for damaging their sense of smell,” says Richard Doty, Read more

FDA Links Zicam to Anosmia

Two and a half years after a lawsuit against the manufacturers of Zicam and Cold-EEZE nasal gels was settled in January 2006 in which the companies made no admission that their products had caused anosmia (loss of the sense of smell) in 340 plaintiffs, the FDA has determined that intranasal application of zinc gluconate, the products’ active ingredient, is in fact the likely culprit.
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Mucosal Vaccination: Cheaper, Faster, Easier, and BETTER!

Even with the existence of effective vaccinations, hepatitis B continues to kill more than a million people each year. Traditional injected vaccines present challenges which are particularly Read more

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