Vita-Salute San Raffaele University, Milan, Italy.
IRCCS Istituto Ortopedico Galeazzi, Milan, Italy.
Neurosci Lett. 2021 Mar 23;748:135694. doi: 10.1016/j.neulet.2021.135694. Epub 2021 Feb 15.
Patients with COVID-19 often complain of smell and taste disorders (STD). STD emerge early in the course of the disease, seem to be more common in SARS-CoV-2 infection than in other upper respiratory tract infections, and could in some cases persist for long after resolution of respiratory symptoms. Current evidence suggests that STD probably result from a loss of function of olfactory sensory neurons and taste buds, mainly caused by infection, inflammation, and subsequent dysfunction of supporting non-neuronal cells in the mucosa. However, the possible occurrence of other mechanisms leading to chemosensory dysfunction has also been hypothesized, and contrasting data have been reported regarding the direct infection of sensory neurons by SARS-CoV-2. In this mini-review, we summarize the currently available literature on pathogenesis, clinical manifestations, diagnosis, and outcomes of STD in COVID-19 and discuss possible future directions of research on this topic.
COVID-19 患者常抱怨嗅觉和味觉障碍（STD）。STD 在疾病早期出现，似乎在 SARS-CoV-2 感染中比其他上呼吸道感染更为常见，并且在某些情况下，在呼吸道症状缓解后仍可能长期存在。目前的证据表明，STD 可能是由于嗅觉感觉神经元和味蕾功能丧失引起的，主要由感染、炎症和随后的黏膜中非神经元细胞功能障碍引起。然而，也有人假设可能存在其他导致化学感觉功能障碍的机制，并且关于 SARS-CoV-2 对感觉神经元的直接感染，已有相互矛盾的数据报道。在这篇小型综述中，我们总结了目前关于 COVID-19 中 STD 的发病机制、临床表现、诊断和结局的文献，并讨论了该主题未来可能的研究方向。
