Post-COVID-19 Anosmia and Therapies: Stay Tuned for New Drugs to Sniff Out
<b>Background:</b> Anosmia is defined as the complete absence of olfactory function, which can be caused by a variety of causes, with upper respiratory tract infections being among the most frequent causes. Anosmia due to SARS-CoV-2 infection has attracted attention given its main role i...
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| Format: | Article |
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MDPI AG
2023-05-01
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| Series: | Diseases |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2079-9721/11/2/79 |
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| author | Gabriele Riccardi Giovanni Francesco Niccolini Mario Giuseppe Bellizzi Marco Fiore Antonio Minni Christian Barbato |
| author_facet | Gabriele Riccardi Giovanni Francesco Niccolini Mario Giuseppe Bellizzi Marco Fiore Antonio Minni Christian Barbato |
| author_sort | Gabriele Riccardi |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | <b>Background:</b> Anosmia is defined as the complete absence of olfactory function, which can be caused by a variety of causes, with upper respiratory tract infections being among the most frequent causes. Anosmia due to SARS-CoV-2 infection has attracted attention given its main role in symptomatology and the social impact of the pandemic. <b>Methods:</b> We conducted systematic research in a clinicaltrials.gov database to evaluate all active clinical trials worldwide regarding drug therapies in adult patients for anosmia following SARS-CoV-2 infection with the intention of identifying the nearby prospects to treat Anosmia. We use the following search terms: “Anosmia” AND “COVID-19” OR “SARS-CoV-2” OR “2019 novel coronavirus”. <b>Results:</b> We found 18 active clinical trials that met our criteria: one phase 1, one phase 1–2, five phases 2, two phases 2–3, three phases 3, and six phases 4 studies were identified. The drug therapies that appear more effective and promising are PEA-LUT and Cerebrolysin. The other interesting drugs are 13-cis-retinoic acid plus aerosolized Vitamin D, dexamethasone, and corticosteroid nasal irrigation. <b>Conclusions:</b> COVID-19 has allowed us to highlight how much anosmia is an important and debilitating symptom for patients and, above all, to direct research to find a therapy aimed at curing the symptom, whether it derives from SARS-CoV-2 infection or other infections of the upper airways. Some of these therapies are very promising and are almost at the end of experimentation. They also provide hope in this field, which not addressed until recently. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-11T02:34:22Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-15f0bc0ef7f24618bec5c8bba8a71c7e |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2079-9721 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-11T02:34:22Z |
| publishDate | 2023-05-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Diseases |
| spelling | doaj.art-15f0bc0ef7f24618bec5c8bba8a71c7e2023-11-18T10:02:06ZengMDPI AGDiseases2079-97212023-05-011127910.3390/diseases11020079Post-COVID-19 Anosmia and Therapies: Stay Tuned for New Drugs to Sniff OutGabriele Riccardi0Giovanni Francesco Niccolini1Mario Giuseppe Bellizzi2Marco Fiore3Antonio Minni4Christian Barbato5Department of Sense Organs (DOS), Sapienza University of Rome, Viale del Policlinico 155, 00161 Roma, ItalyDepartment of Sense Organs (DOS), Sapienza University of Rome, Viale del Policlinico 155, 00161 Roma, ItalyDepartment of Sense Organs (DOS), Sapienza University of Rome, Viale del Policlinico 155, 00161 Roma, ItalyInstitute of Biochemistry and Cell Biology (IBBC), National Research Council (CNR), Unit of Translational Biomolecular Medicine, Department of Sense Organs (DOS), Sapienza University of Rome, Viale del Policlinico 155, 00161 Roma, ItalyDepartment of Sense Organs (DOS), Sapienza University of Rome, Viale del Policlinico 155, 00161 Roma, ItalyInstitute of Biochemistry and Cell Biology (IBBC), National Research Council (CNR), Unit of Translational Biomolecular Medicine, Department of Sense Organs (DOS), Sapienza University of Rome, Viale del Policlinico 155, 00161 Roma, Italy<b>Background:</b> Anosmia is defined as the complete absence of olfactory function, which can be caused by a variety of causes, with upper respiratory tract infections being among the most frequent causes. Anosmia due to SARS-CoV-2 infection has attracted attention given its main role in symptomatology and the social impact of the pandemic. <b>Methods:</b> We conducted systematic research in a clinicaltrials.gov database to evaluate all active clinical trials worldwide regarding drug therapies in adult patients for anosmia following SARS-CoV-2 infection with the intention of identifying the nearby prospects to treat Anosmia. We use the following search terms: “Anosmia” AND “COVID-19” OR “SARS-CoV-2” OR “2019 novel coronavirus”. <b>Results:</b> We found 18 active clinical trials that met our criteria: one phase 1, one phase 1–2, five phases 2, two phases 2–3, three phases 3, and six phases 4 studies were identified. The drug therapies that appear more effective and promising are PEA-LUT and Cerebrolysin. The other interesting drugs are 13-cis-retinoic acid plus aerosolized Vitamin D, dexamethasone, and corticosteroid nasal irrigation. <b>Conclusions:</b> COVID-19 has allowed us to highlight how much anosmia is an important and debilitating symptom for patients and, above all, to direct research to find a therapy aimed at curing the symptom, whether it derives from SARS-CoV-2 infection or other infections of the upper airways. Some of these therapies are very promising and are almost at the end of experimentation. They also provide hope in this field, which not addressed until recently.https://www.mdpi.com/2079-9721/11/2/79anosmiasmellpost-COVID-19olfactory impairmenttherapyclinical trials |
| spellingShingle | Gabriele Riccardi Giovanni Francesco Niccolini Mario Giuseppe Bellizzi Marco Fiore Antonio Minni Christian Barbato Post-COVID-19 Anosmia and Therapies: Stay Tuned for New Drugs to Sniff Out Diseases anosmia smell post-COVID-19 olfactory impairment therapy clinical trials |
| title | Post-COVID-19 Anosmia and Therapies: Stay Tuned for New Drugs to Sniff Out |
| title_full | Post-COVID-19 Anosmia and Therapies: Stay Tuned for New Drugs to Sniff Out |
| title_fullStr | Post-COVID-19 Anosmia and Therapies: Stay Tuned for New Drugs to Sniff Out |
| title_full_unstemmed | Post-COVID-19 Anosmia and Therapies: Stay Tuned for New Drugs to Sniff Out |
| title_short | Post-COVID-19 Anosmia and Therapies: Stay Tuned for New Drugs to Sniff Out |
| title_sort | post covid 19 anosmia and therapies stay tuned for new drugs to sniff out |
| topic | anosmia smell post-COVID-19 olfactory impairment therapy clinical trials |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2079-9721/11/2/79 |
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