Researchers say people who lost their sense of smell after coronavirus infection may suffer nasal cell destruction

Numerous patients who lost their sense of smell after contracting the coronavirus may be dealing with aberrant immune reactions that cause nasal cell damage, according to the study.

Doctors examined the nasal tissue of Covid patients and discovered immune cells that cause inflammation inside the fragile nasal lining of those who were experiencing a loss of smell, which was likely eliminating essential sensory nerve cells.

Dr. Bradley Goldstein, an associate professor in the department of neurobiology at Duke University in North Carolina, said that tissues inside the nose’s lining ‘had distinct immune cells producing inflammatory signals, paired with fewer olfactory nerve cells.’

The research found unusual immune responses present in patients who are suffering from the loss of sense of smell for months.’It appears that there is an unresolved local immune response, which the delicate olfactory cells are seeing,’ he said.

Since it was brought to the notice of doctors that many Covid patients are suffering the loss of smell, it has remained unclear if the sensory cells present in the nose and around the brain have individually or together suffered damage by the virus.

‘Currently, we have no specific, effective treatments. To develop therapies, we need to understand the pathobiology of the problem: what is damaged and where,’ he added.