Scientists are piecing together why some people lose their sense of smell after contracting COVID-19.
A study published Monday in the journal Nature Genetics identified a genetic risk factor associated with the loss of smell after a COVID infection, a discovery that brings experts closer to understanding the perplexing pattern and may point the way toward much-needed treatments.
Six months after contracting COVID, as many as 1.6 million people in the United States are still unable to smell or have experienced a change in their ability to smell. The precise cause of sensory loss related to COVID is not known, but scientists do think it stems from damage to infected cells in a part of the nose called the olfactory epithelium. These cells protect olfactory neurons, which help humans smell.
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