Noninvasive Brain Stimulation Promising for COVID-Related Smell Loss
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Noninvasive brain stimulation may help restore a sense of smell in patients with chronic anosmia or hyposmia related to COVID-19, early research suggests. Results of a small, double-blind, sham-controlled study showed anodal transcranial direct current stimulation (A-tDCS) combined with olfactory training (OT) provided notable and durable improvement in seven patients with persistent COVID-19–related hyposmia or anosmia.
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@miraj Approximately 1% of patients with COVID will suffer from long-term smell loss, and given the widespread global impact of COVID, this represents a substantial number who have experienced or will potentially experience chronic smell loss because of the disease. Loss of smell associated with COVID may last anywhere from 15 to 180 days after a SAR-CoV-2 infection, the researchers note. Research suggests there is central nervous system involvement in COVID anosmia, mostly in the orbitofrontal cortex — the neural substrate for conscious olfactory perception.