News

29/03/2022

One of the most distinctive symptoms of COVID-19, the disease that can arise from the SARS-CoV-2 virus, is loss of taste and smell. This symptom can even affect people for weeks and months after they have developed the disease. Now, new research provides some insight into why this is the case. Originally thought to be related to damage of the olfactory nerves, the decreased or altered sense of smell is called olfactory dysfunction. However, according to the new research published this week in The Laryngoscope, loss of smell due to COVID-19 may also be because of swollen and blocked nasal passages. “Initially, we noticed a pattern in patients with COVID-19 that they lost their sense of smell and taste. We noticed these findings could be used as an indicator of whether or not a patient had COVID-19, but we thought it had to do with the olfactory nerve,” said Dr. Anjali Bharati, an ER physician at Lenox Health Greenwich Village in New York, NY. However, the researchers discovered that a contributing factor of the loss of smell and taste is due to the tissues instead of nerves. The good news is that cells recycle and heal much more easily than nerve damage. “Nerve damage is a more serious thing. The question becomes ‘does it recover?’” said Bharati. “This news involves the physical makeup of the nose, like the nasal passage and the back of the throat. Nerve damage is part of the brain, which is more disconcerting than the nasal passages.”   *Image credit: Photo by doTERRA International, LLC via Pexels

18/11/2021

While the majority of people who contract COVID-19 recover within 3-4 weeks following infection, there are some who experience lingering symptoms for months afterwards. These symptoms, which can include shortness of breath, loss of smell and taste, brain fog, headaches and fatigue, are referred to collectively as 'long Covid'. Now, research has shown that this so-called long Covid seems to more severely impact women's cardiovascular and lung function than men. According to researchers at Indiana University, Bloomington, women with COVID-19 who had mild-to-moderate illness during the acute phase showed a slower decline in their heart rate after the 6-minute walk test than the participants in the control group. This difference was more pronounced in women actively experiencing long COVID symptoms. Study lead author, Dr. Stephen Carter, a professor at Indiana University, said: “A puzzling feature of post-acute COVID-19 syndrome is the variable presentation of symptoms that appear to be independent of initial illness severity. The present work shows even those with mild-to-moderate initial symptoms can be affected with underlying cardiac-related irregularities with the potential to affect exercise tolerance and/or activities of daily living.” “It’s also plausible that lingering symptoms, particularly muscle/joint pain and/or shortness of breath, may trigger a maladaptive pattern that accelerates systemic deconditioning. However, further research is needed.” The study appears in the journal Experimental Physiology. *Image by StockSnap from Pixabay

28/01/2021

Changes to a person’s tongue, hands or the soles of their feet could provide an early indication that they are infected with Covid-19, Spanish researchers say. In a study presented on Tuesday, the researchers said that among 666 patients with Covid-19 at Madrid’s IFEMA field hospital set up during the first wave of the pandemic, one in four patients said they had noticed changes to their tongue. Four out of 10 also noticed unusual signs on the palms of their hands or soles of their feet. The study was carried out in April by healthcare professionals from Madrid’s La Paz hospital and primary care services. The findings were published in the British Journal of Dermatology in the form of a “research letter” in September. Some patients said they experienced swelling of their tongues and the appearance of patches – something which has now been dubbed ‘Covid tongue’. This was also associated with a loss of taste. Another symptom was a burning sensation and redness on the palms or soles of the feet, which in some cases was also followed by the appearance of small blemishes. “Almost half of patients with mild‐to‐moderate Covid‐19 admitted in a field‐hospital during a two‐week period showed mucocutaneous findings,” the researchers said. “The oral cavity was frequently involved and deserves specific examination under appropriate circumstances to avoid contagion risk.”