Guest guest Posted October 8, 2003 Report Share Posted October 8, 2003 As most people have amalgam fillings, it makes me wonder how these patients felt taking ALA! Lati [ ] ALA and smell Listmates, I think about when I've seen people with autism pick things up and smell them when most people wouldn't do so. I thought this was interesting. Laryngoscope. 2002 Nov;112(11):2076-80. Related Articles, Links [Click here to read] Lipoic acid in the treatment of smell dysfunction following viral infection of the upper respiratory tract. Hummel T, Heilmann S, Huttenbriuk KB. Department of Otorhinolaryngology, University of Dresden Medical School, Germany. thummel@... OBJECTIVES/HYPOTHESIS: The study aimed to investigate the potential therapeutic effects of alpha-lipoic acid in olfactory loss following infections of the upper respiratory tract. Possible mechanisms of actions include the release of nerve growth factor and antioxidative effects, both of which may be helpful in the regeneration of olfactory receptor neurons. STUDY DESIGN: Unblinded, prospective clinical trial. METHODS: A total of 23 patients participated (13 women, 10 men; mean age 57 y, age range 22-79 y; mean duration of olfactory loss, 14 mo; range, 4 to 33 mo); 19 of them were hyposmic and 4 had functional anosmia. Alpha-lipoic acid was used orally at a dose of 600 mg/day; it was prescribed for an average period of 4.5 months. Olfactory function was assessed using olfactory tests for phenyl ethyl alcohol odor threshold, odor discrimination, and odor identification. RESULTS: Seven patients (30%) showed no change in olfactory function. Two patients (9%) exhibited a moderate decrease in olfactory function; in contrast, six patients (26%) showed moderate and eight patients (35%) remarkable increase in olfactory function. Two of the 4 patients with functional anosmia reached hyposmia; 5 of 19 hyposmic patients became normosmic. Overall, this resulted in a significant improvement in olfactory function following treatment (P =.002). At the end of treatment parosmias were less frequent (22%) than at the beginning of therapy (48%). Interestingly, recovery of olfactory function appeared to be more pronounced in younger patients than in patients above the age of 60 years (P =.018). CONCLUSIONS: The results indicate that alpha-lipoic acid may be helpful in patients with olfactory loss after upper respiratory tract infection. However, to judge the true potential of this treatment, the outcome of double-blind, placebo-controlled studies in large groups of patients must be awaited, especially when considering the relatively high rate of spontaneous recovery in olfactory loss after upper respiratory tract infection. Publication Types: * Clinical Trial PMID: 12439184 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted October 8, 2003 Report Share Posted October 8, 2003 Yes, all so much interesting information gets left out of papers. But the internet is a WONDERFUL thing - it gives some hope of actually tracking down someone who participated in the trial and finding out if the patients think the same thing happened as the doctors said! Andy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. > As most people have amalgam fillings, it makes me wonder how these patients felt taking ALA! > > Lati > [ ] ALA and smell > > > Listmates, > > I think about when I've seen people with autism pick things up and smell > them when most people wouldn't do so. I thought this was interesting. > > > > Laryngoscope. 2002 Nov;112(11):2076-80. Related Articles, Links > [Click here to read] > Lipoic acid in the treatment of smell dysfunction following viral > infection of the upper respiratory tract. > > Hummel T, Heilmann S, Huttenbriuk KB. > > Department of Otorhinolaryngology, University of Dresden Medical > School, Germany. thummel@r... > > OBJECTIVES/HYPOTHESIS: The study aimed to investigate the potential > therapeutic effects of alpha-lipoic acid in olfactory loss following > infections of the upper respiratory tract. Possible mechanisms of actions > include the release of nerve growth factor and antioxidative effects, both > of which may be helpful in the regeneration of olfactory receptor neurons. > STUDY DESIGN: Unblinded, prospective clinical trial. METHODS: A total of 23 > patients participated (13 women, 10 men; mean age 57 y, age range 22-79 y; > mean duration of olfactory loss, 14 mo; range, 4 to 33 mo); 19 of them were > hyposmic and 4 had functional anosmia. Alpha-lipoic acid was used orally at > a dose of 600 mg/day; it was prescribed for an average period of 4.5 > months. Olfactory function was assessed using olfactory tests for phenyl > ethyl alcohol odor threshold, odor discrimination, and odor identification. > RESULTS: Seven patients (30%) showed no change in olfactory function. Two > patients (9%) exhibited a moderate decrease in olfactory function; in > contrast, six patients (26%) showed moderate and eight patients (35%) > remarkable increase in olfactory function. Two of the 4 patients with > functional anosmia reached hyposmia; 5 of 19 hyposmic patients became > normosmic. Overall, this resulted in a significant improvement in olfactory > function following treatment (P =.002). At the end of treatment parosmias > were less frequent (22%) than at the beginning of therapy (48%). > Interestingly, recovery of olfactory function appeared to be more > pronounced in younger patients than in patients above the age of 60 years > (P =.018). CONCLUSIONS: The results indicate that alpha-lipoic acid may be > helpful in patients with olfactory loss after upper respiratory tract > infection. However, to judge the true potential of this treatment, the > outcome of double-blind, placebo-controlled studies in large groups of > patients must be awaited, especially when considering the relatively high > rate of spontaneous recovery in olfactory loss after upper respiratory > tract infection. > > Publication Types: > > * Clinical Trial > > > PMID: 12439184 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE] > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted October 8, 2003 Report Share Posted October 8, 2003 > Listmates, > > I think about when I've seen people with autism pick things up and smell > them when most people wouldn't do so. I thought this was interesting. I have a serious vision loss, and I would smell things quite frequently when I was younger. Smell was very helpful for me to identify things when they were not individually discernible by sight. Smell is also a very powerful memory trigger. So if any child tends to smell things, consider having the vision checked. Dana Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted October 9, 2003 Report Share Posted October 9, 2003 > Dana, > > What kind of vision loss? Very long and complicated description. I will reply by private email on Saturday. I can address the other things you sent me privately also. >>Have you been > to the eye doctor about this? Since I was 8 yo. >> If so, what did he/she call the problem in > vision you have? Myopia, which I know does not tell the entire story LOL > > Please join us on sulfurstories if you want to participate more in > discussions of biotin supplements. I can't handle another message board right now. I do read abmd tho, altho I don't post there. >> ALA competes with biotin for transport, > so taking ALA without taking biotiin at the same time might make this > vision issue worse if it does stem from biotin deficiency. I am not using ALA for myself. I will read this study on the weekend. Thanks Dana Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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