Juratli Jerry Hadi, High Brigit, Joshi Akshita, Yilmaz Eren, Yildirim Duzgun, Altundag Aytug, Hummel Thomas
Smell and Taste Clinic, Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Technical University of Dresden, Dresden, Germany.
Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, Rocky Mountain Taste and Smell Center, University of Colorado School of Medicine, Aurora, CO, USA.
Am J Rhinol Allergy. 2025 Jan;39(1):58-62. doi: 10.1177/19458924241288664. Epub 2024 Oct 21.
Cribriform foramina provide the openings for olfactory nerve fibers to cross from the nasal cavity to the olfactory bulb. Disruption of the olfactory nerve fibers is known to affect olfactory function, but little is known about the potential effects on the number of cribriform foramina in congenital anosmia.
This pilot study aimed to investigate whether there was a reduction in foramina in patients with acquired and congenital anosmia (including both Kallmann syndrome and isolated congenital anosmia) compared to controls with normal olfactory function.
Paranasal CT image stacks were analyzed from 20 patients with congenital anosmia ( = 6), acquired anosmia ( = 6), or normal olfactory function ( = 8). Cribriform foramina were counted by three observers from the slice revealing the crista galli and the ethmoidal slits. The two closest values for each subject were analyzed in comparison across the three groups using one-way analysis of variance.
Patients with congenital, but not acquired, anosmia had significantly fewer cribriform foramina (x̄ ± SE = 10.17 ± 1.23) compared to healthy, normosmic controls (x̄ ± SE = 19.88 ± 2.01). There was no significant difference in foramina count between congenital and acquired anosmics (x̄ ± SE = 15.83 ± 3.47).
In this pilot study, a reduced number of cribriform foramina was found in individuals with congenital anosmia. Examination of cribriform foramina could be helpful in counseling patients with olfactory loss. Further investigation in larger studies with additional cohorts is warranted.
筛孔为嗅神经纤维从鼻腔穿过至嗅球提供通道。已知嗅神经纤维中断会影响嗅觉功能，但对于先天性嗅觉丧失中筛孔数量的潜在影响知之甚少。
本初步研究旨在调查与嗅觉功能正常的对照组相比，后天性和先天性嗅觉丧失患者（包括卡尔曼综合征和孤立性先天性嗅觉丧失）的筛孔数量是否减少。
分析了20例先天性嗅觉丧失患者（n = 6）、后天性嗅觉丧失患者（n = 6）或嗅觉功能正常患者（n = 8）的鼻窦CT图像堆栈。由三名观察者从显示鸡冠和筛骨裂的切片中计数筛孔。使用单因素方差分析对三组中每个受试者的两个最接近值进行比较分析。
与健康的嗅觉正常对照组（x̄ ± SE = 19.88 ± 2.01）相比，先天性而非后天性嗅觉丧失患者的筛孔数量显著减少（x̄ ± SE = 10.17 ± 1.23）。先天性和后天性嗅觉丧失患者之间的筛孔计数无显著差异（x̄ ± SE = 15.83 ± 3.47）。
在本初步研究中，发现先天性嗅觉丧失个体的筛孔数量减少。检查筛孔可能有助于为嗅觉丧失患者提供咨询。有必要在更大规模的研究中对更多队列进行进一步调查。
