Lost your smell during a bout of COVID? Ontario researchers are working to reverse that
Researchers at St. Joseph’s Health Care London are working on a treatment for people that lost their sense of smell during a bout of COVID.
Loss of sense of smell and taste is a common symptom of COVID-19. It can also be accompanied by parosmia, a disorder that turns normal odours into a stench.
Rebecca Bruzzese suffered from parosmia after a bout of COVID, “Coffee was the worst,” she said. “It smelled like hot garbage.”
The smell of many foods was so bad for Bruzzese that she lost 30 pounds.
The disorder can also be accompanied by phantom smells, with Bruzzese regularly believing she was smelling natural gas, or cigarette smoke, “Not having a reliable sense of smell was very disorienting and anxiety provoking,” said Bruzzese. “The natural gas smell was the worst. I live in a condo and would contact the building manager to investigate. I was borderline neurotic for a couple of months.”
A treatment being trialed at St. Joseph’s Health Care London (St. Joseph’s) was a game changer for Bruzzese.
The treatment, pioneered by Dr. Leigh Sowerby, a surgeon with the Otolaryngology- Head and Neck Program and scientist with Lawson Health Research Institute is a procedure involving injecting a local anesthetic into the stellate ganglion, a collection of nerves in the neck.
Early research by the team indicated that temporarily blocking the sympathetic signals, passed to the head, neck, arms, and chest by the stellate ganglion could help patients struggling with a distorted sense of smell.
The research resulted in a clinical trial with 44 patients
“The assumption for a lot of these patients is that there is nothing we can do,” explained Sowerby. “If the findings are positive, we’re hoping it will help advocate for more access to the procedure.”
The current study is a double-blind, with some recipients receiving placebo treatment. Investigators and patients do not know which they’ve received.
Bruzzese came down with COVID-19 in February 2023, and received her injection at the end of March. “Within two weeks I was mostly recovered. What Dr. Sowerby is doing is incredibly important. Being able to recognize smells is something we take for granted, until you can’t.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
A turbulent campaign nears its finale as Americans choose between Harris and Trump
A presidential campaign marked by upheaval and rancour headed for its Election Day finale on Tuesday, as Americans decided whether to send Donald Trump back to the White House or elevate Kamala Harris to the Oval Office.
Government calls $9M condo purchase an 'operational decision'
Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly defends the purchase of a $9 million condo for the Consulate General of New York City at a parliamentary committee, as a necessary investment.
New homeowners find skeleton in attic 15 years after previous occupant disappeared
Homeowners in France have discovered a skeleton in the attic of an outbuilding while undertaking renovation work.
Netanyahu fires Israeli defence minister Yoav Gallant, after months of clashes over war and politics
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has fired Defence Minister Yoav Gallant after months of clashes over domestic politics and Israel’s war efforts.
Trudeau and Harris? Poilievre and Trump? Here's who Canadians think would work best with: survey
As Americans prepare to elect their next president on Tuesday, new data from the Angus Reid Institute suggests Canadians hold differing views as to which federal party leaders would be best suited to deal with either Donald Trump or Kamala Harris.
'Extreme disregard for the safety of others': Lamborghini driver gets prison sentence for 2021 Toronto crash
A mortgage broker who totalled his Lamborghini and left a passenger with life-altering injuries after trying to pass a Toronto streetcar at nearly three times the speed limit has been handed a two-and-a-half year prison sentence.
'I’m not proud of it': Jason Kelce apologizes after video shows him spiking a cellphone after fan used a homophobic slur
Jason Kelce issued an apology during ESPN's 'Monday Night Countdown' after a viral video captured a 'heated moment' between the retired Super Bowl champion and a fan over the weekend.
Prison sentences handed down for sexually abusive London, Ont. parents
In handing down the sentences for two London parents, Justice Thomas Heeney told the court, "The facts of this case were the most egregious that I have encountered during my 26 years on the bench."
Harris and Trump tie in Dixville Notch midnight vote to kick off Election Day
U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris and former U.S. president Donald Trump have tied with three votes each in the tiny New Hampshire township of Dixville Notch, kicking off Election Day in one of the first places in the country to report its presidential preference.