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Intranasal insulin for COVID-19-related smell loss: a pilot study

2023; MedCrave Group; Volume: 15; Issue: 1 Linguagem: Inglês

10.15406/joentr.2023.15.00520

2379-6359

D. Daniel, Loyola-Nieto Paula, Brenner-Muslera Eduardo, Guerra-Arellano Daniel, Dib-Estephan Andrea, Loyola-Nieto Fernando,

Vagus Nerve Stimulation Research

Anosmia is defined as the absence of olfactory function, hyposmia as the decrease in olfactory function and parosmia as the aberrant olfactory perception. These are relatively common consequences of COVID-19 infection even months after resolution of the disease. SARS-CoV-2 has tropism for angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) in the respiratory system, suggesting it is the mechanism of damage to the olfactory neuroepithelium and of involvement at the central nervous system. The olfactory bulb is the organ with the highest intranasal insulin utilization. Insulin has been related to the production of multiple Growth Factors (GF) involved in the restoration of olfactory functions therefore it could be a viable treatment for patients with chronic olfactory disturbances. The aim of this study was to quantify improvement in olfaction after four weeks of using intranasal insulin, with the help of the Threshold, Discrimination and Identification (TDI) score based on the Sniffin Sticks®. The results showed 93% of the sample having an improvement. The initial mean TDI score was 67% compared to the final mean of 83% (95% CI, p<0.001). This is the first study to use a three-point assessment of olfaction in post-COVID-19 patients, while using the Sniffin Sticks® TDI score adapted to latin spanish.