Fiorani Federico, Moretti Giulia, Cerquiglini Laura, Gizzi Chiara, Gizzi Giulia, Signorelli Paola, Cataldi Samuela, Beccari Tommaso, Delvecchio Elisa, Mazzeschi Claudia, Troiani Stefania, Albi Elisabetta
Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Perugia, 06126 Perugia, Italy.
Department of Philosophy, Social Sciences and Education, University of Perugia, 06123 Perugia, Italy.
Reports (MDPI). 2024 Nov 21;7(4):104. doi: 10.3390/reports7040104.
Persistent alterations in taste and smell affect a significant proportion of individuals following COVID-19, representing a component of post-acute COVID-19 syndrome, commonly referred to as long COVID. The degradation of sphingomyelin by acid sphingomyelinase is regarded as a biomarker for acquired demyelinating neuropathies. This study was aimed to enroll women who contracted COVID-19 during pregnancy and experienced persistent alterations in taste and/or smell for more than 1 year post-infection, in comparison to pregnant women without any disturbances in these senses. The patients were subjected to a questionnaire investigating smell and taste disorders more than 1 year after the infection. Then, the levels of acid sphingomyelinase in the plasma of the participants were assessed. The results showed that in women who had been pregnant and who had been infected with SARS Cov-2 during the COVID period and who still had taste and smell disorders 1 year later, plasma acid sphingomyelinase levels were double that of pregnant women who had contracted the infection during the COVID period but had not reported taste and smell disorders and that of pregnant women analyzed after the COVID period. The results suggest a hypothesis that the persistence of sensory disturbances in long COVID was probably due to a failure to utilize brain circuitry with demyelination resulting from chemosensory dysfunction of the olfactory epithelium.
新冠病毒感染后，味觉和嗅觉的持续改变影响了相当一部分人，这是新冠后急性综合征（通常称为长期新冠）的一个组成部分。酸性鞘磷脂酶对鞘磷脂的降解被视为获得性脱髓鞘性神经病的生物标志物。本研究旨在招募在孕期感染新冠病毒且感染后1年多仍存在味觉和/或嗅觉持续改变的女性，并与在这些感官方面无任何障碍的孕妇进行比较。对患者进行问卷调查，以调查感染1年多后的嗅觉和味觉障碍情况。然后，评估参与者血浆中酸性鞘磷脂酶的水平。结果显示，在孕期感染新冠病毒且1年后仍有味觉和嗅觉障碍的女性中，血浆酸性鞘磷脂酶水平是孕期感染新冠病毒但未报告味觉和嗅觉障碍的孕妇以及新冠疫情后分析的孕妇的两倍。结果提出了一个假设，即长期新冠中感觉障碍的持续存在可能是由于嗅觉上皮化学感觉功能障碍导致脱髓鞘，从而未能利用大脑神经回路。
