Hyperosmia in Lyme disease

Abstract

Neurological involvement in Lyme disease has been reported to include meningitis, cranial neuropathy and radiculoneuritis. While it is known that in some cases of asceptic meningitis patients may develop hyperosmia, the association between hyperosmia and Lyme disease has not previously been studied. Objective: To carry out the first systematic study to ascertain whether hyperosmia is also a feature of Lyme disease. Method: A questionnaire regarding abnormal sensory sensitivity in respect of the sense of smell was administered to 16 serologically positive Lyme disease patients and to 18 control subjects. Results: The two groups were matched in respect of age, sex and body mass. None of the 34 subjects was suffering from migraine. Eight (50%) of the Lyme patients and none (0%) of the controls suffered from hyperosmia (p=0.0007). Conclusion: This first systematic controlled study showed that Lyme disease is associated with hyperosmia.Keywords: olfaction, hyperosmia, Lyme disease. RESUMOTem sido descrito acometimento neurológico na doença de Lyme: meningite, neuropatia de nervos cranianos, e radiculoneurite. É bem conhecida a ocorrência de hiperosmia em alguns casos de meningites assépticas, mas a associação de hiperosmia com doença de Lyme ainda não foi relatada. Objetivo: Conduzir um estudo sistemático para investigar se a hiperosmia é característica também da doença de Lyme. Método: Foi aplicado um questionário pesquisando a ocorrência de sensibilidade anormal em relação ao sentido da olfação a 16 pacientes com sorologia positiva para doença de Lyme e a 18 controles normais. Os dois grupos foram pareados em relação a idade, sexo e massa corporal. Nenhum dos 34 sujeitos sofria de enxaqueca. Resultados: Foi detectada hiperosmia em 8 sujeitos com doença de Lyme (50%) enquanto que a hiperosmia não apareceu em nenhum sujeito do grupo controle (p=0,0007). Conclusão: Doença de Lyme está associada à hiperosmia.Palavras-chave: olfação, hiperosmia, doença de Lyme.

Two-Year Follow-Up on Chemosensory Dysfunction and Adaptive Immune Response after Infection with SARS-CoV-2 in a Cohort of 44 Healthcare Workers

“…Interestingly, we also observed a change in the type of qualitative dysfunction in one participant who reported parosmia and dysgeusia up to the 244-day study visit, and then at the 721-day study visit reported a newly emerged heightened sense of smell (hyperosmia), which had replaced parosmia. Hyperosmia has been described to occur during migraine attacks, after meningitis, viral infection, or toxic exposure and might be caused by uncontrolled neuronal sprouting after injury [ 38 , 39 , 40 ]. In the context of SARS-CoV-2 infection, there has been only one report of two cases with self-reported hyperosmia around two months after COVID-19 [ 39 ].…”