A Strong Whiff of Hope for Early Cancer Detection

Recently, the Whiff-Guys sniffed into the fascinating field of Olfactory Diagnosis, a valuable diagnostic procedure in which a physician literally smells a patient’s breath for clues (a rotten apple smell, for instance, might indicate that testing for diabetes is in order, while fishy breath might point toward liver disease). Unfortunately, the limited abilities of even the most talented of human noses have severely limited the range of usefulness for the practice, and led to Read more

The Science of Olfactory Diagnosis

The smell of rotten apples on a patient’s breath doesn’t positively indicate diabetes, and fishy breath doesn’t positively indicate liver disease–any more than the smell of Smirnoff positively indicates alcoholism–but it can give a physician a pretty good starting point for further testing. “Olfactory diagnosis” has always been a valuable tool for physicians but, of course, the limited abilities of even the most talented human noses have Read more

Smell Less, Live Longer?

The effects of a low-calorie diet on the longevity of most animals is widely known in scientific circles: Caloric restriction extends animal lifespans by activating cellular protection mechanisms. But, according to a study into the lifespans of roundworms, just restricting the smell of those calorie-filled foodstuffs may turn the trick!

Three years ago, researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis discovered that a class of anticonvulsant medications increased the lifespan of a roundworm, but prior to concluding their new study, they had no idea why. “We’ve learned that the drugs inhibit neurons in the worm’s Read more

Simple Testing for Little Noses

With increasing evidence that an impaired sense of smell can be an early indicator of everything from sinus and ear infection to schizophrenia and Alzheimer’s disease, development of accurate methods of measuring olfactory function has become a diagnostic priority. While effective clinical tests are in use for adults, such as the OLFACT, most are considered unsuitable for children because they tend to test for a complex range of smells unknown to a child.

Recognizing the need for testing on a more “Fun With Dick and Jane” level, researchers from the University of New South Wales have developed a simplified odor identification test involving 16 common odorants (such as fish, cut grass, and chocolate) and simple visual images geared toward children aged five to seven. Study participants sniffed the odors from individual plastic bottles, then viewed three photographs and picked the one that best represented the smell. 88.1% of five-year-olds, 88.9% of six-year-olds, and 91.1% of seven-year-olds correctly identified the smells. For a five-year-old, say the researchers, normal olfaction would be defined by correct identification of 11 out of the 16 odors, and anosmia would be signaled by correct identification of 4 or less.

While early results are extremely promising, the researchers point out that “as yet no data have been obtained from children with diseases or injuries using the tests which would provide the ranges of identification scores that define hyposmic and anosmic individuals, and the equivalent ranges for those with gustatory dysfunctions. Clearly, this is a priority before the tests can be fully utilized by clinicians when diagnosing chemosensory dysfunctions.”

Your Nose Grows: Good News for Bad Backs

Remarkably, the failure of regenerating nerve fibers to grow within the adult mammalian central nervous system does not apply to the olfactory bulb. Throughout the whole life of an organism, olfactory sensory neurons are renewed from progenitor cells. Read more

A Proactive Approach to Parkinson’s Disease

The University of Pennsylvania Smell Identification Test (UPSIT) is the most widely used–and useful–clinical olfactory test in the world. Developed and practiced at the university’s renowned Smell and Taste Center, the UPSIT consists of four booklets containing ten microencapsulated odors, each accompanied by four possible responses from which the participant is asked to choose. Studies using the UPSIT have positively linked olfactory dysfunction to a variety of causes ranging from head trauma and respiratory infection to neurological disorders like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease. The value of the test in Read more

Sniffing Out Genetic Risk Markers

Olfactory defects may indicate a genetic predisposition to schizophrenia, even in the absence of any other symptoms, according to a study concluded last month at the University of Pennsylvania.

Bruce Turetsky and his team made the astonishing discovery that the olfactory bulbs of first-degree relatives of schizophrenia patients are smaller in volume than those of individuals with no family history of the disease. When the scientists compared the brain activity of 14 unaffected direct relatives of schizophrenia patients against a 20-subject control group, they discovered significant impairment of scent detection and identification in the first group.

“While these findings must be considered preliminary,” concluded the researchers, “they are consistent with the conclusion that neurophysiological disturbances in the olfactory system may be sensitive endophenotypic markers (characteristics that reflect the actions of genes predisposing an individual to a disorder) of genetic vulnerability to schizophrenia.”

How Well Do You Smell?

Knowing whether or not you smell good isn’t so tricky. As a rule of thumb, if humans display an obvious aversion to your armpits and dogs display an obvious interest in them, it may be time to break out the Mister Bubble. But knowing whether or not you smell well is another matter. As with vision and hearing, the sense of smell is subjective. With no point of reference, an individual is unable to perceive a decline in these senses.

Dr. Allen Seiden is part of a team currently testing the Olfactory Function Assessment with Computerized Testing machine (OLFACT), which objectively measures an individual’s ability to smell. The machine emits a scent through a tube beneath the patient’s nose then prompts him to identify the scent on a computer screen. “It’s basically plumbing, just blowing into the air are odorized vials that contain the odorant, and that contains all the different smells the patients have to smell,” says design specialist and OLFACT creator Lloyd Hastings.

The new machine, expected to be marketed soon for nationwide use, may prove every bit as valuable as those already in mainstream use for testing vision and hearing. Not only do we rely on our noses to enhance our sense of taste, to alert us to danger, and Read more

An Added Tid Bit About the Balance of Nature

It is extremely logical that a natural element such as mold, became a wonderful solution to a medical malady – then encountered an evolving strain of bacteria that became its powerful enemy. This is merely the science and law of nature. It is also logical that the natural enemy of this newly armed and evolving Super Bug is found by returning to nature for a simple and effective remedy. Mold (fungi), bacteria, and plants are all part of the balance of nature.

An Amazing Scent-Based Discovery To Eradicate MRSA

Fighting MRSA has been an uphill battle for years now.
Impotent measures have been the only solution up until now, with hand washing, alcohol scrubbing, and patient screening as the preventative measures of the day. Hydrogen peroxide gas is being used to deep clean hospital settings, but after only 24-hours, the MRSA colonies return in mass. But a recent discovery has shown a seemingly unorthodox solution to this pervasive situation.

After a decade of cumulative international research on the effects of essential oils in inhibiting bacteria and infectious microbes, researchers in England have made an amazing find. Most of the previous studies had involved the successful use of essential oils in eradicating infectious microbes through physical application. This particular study utilized the vapors of essential oils in successfully and dramatically reducing airborne counts of infectious microbes. Read more

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