A Study of Olfactory Threshold vs. Fatigue

Abstract

The intravenous olfaction test with Alinamin is a simple procedure and currently in widespread use. However, fundamentals about this test procedure are still obscure in many respects. This study was performed to elucidate the relationship between the olfactory threshold and the fatigue in this test. An olfactory stimulus provided by the intravenous injection of Alinamin (2 ml) in 20 seconds exceeds the olfactory threshold of normosic individual by approximately 2000-fold. Most of cases resulted in a negative intravenous olfactory test could not estimated by a standard olfactory acuity test. The latent time varies with the olfactory threshold, while the duration time is varied depending upon both the olfactory threshold and the fatigue. Therefore, extraordinary short duration time with a pertineat latent time may indicate the marked olfactory fatigue.