01/18/2022

Genetic Risk Factor Found for COVID-19 Smell and Taste Loss, Researchers Say

The precise cause of sensory loss related to COVID remains unknown

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.

Please select this link to read the complete article from NBC News.