2023-10-18 17:00:00
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It is well known that, since 2020, waking up one day and finding yourself unable to appreciate the delicious smell of freshly brewed coffee or the taste of toast was a sign of having contracted the coronavirus. And after that first conclusion, there are even those who ran to the grocery store to buy an onion to check which, in fact, did not smell of anything.
Why is the sense of smell lost with the coronavirus?
Anosmia is the name given to the loss of smell, and ageusia, that of taste. Both disorders are probably the most curious symptoms of the ‘covid cocktail’, although by no means exceptional: according to the World Health Organization, 4 out of 10 patients experienced it and, according to data from the University of Health and Sciences in Oregon, 20% of patients who suffered distortions in smell no They recovered him in the following three months after having resolved the infection by COVID-19.
What happened to them? Well, this significant percentage of people unable to feel perfumes and flavors was a motivation for Hokkaido University and the Japanese pharmaceutical company Shionogi, developers of a pill that has proven to be effective to fade these distressing symptoms del coronavirus.
What have been the results of the pill?
Ensitrelvir – that is the name of the drug, which in Japan is known as Xocova – acts as a 3CL protease inhibitor, an enzyme essential for the replication of SARS-CoV-2. The pill began to be tested during the predominance of the omicron variant, and its initial objective was not precisely to alleviate the anosmia and ageusia of the patients, but to attack the virus in general terms.
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The coronavirus 3CL protease is essential for virus maturation and may be a promising drug target.
Since 2022, the medicine has been circulating in Japan, within the framework of a system that allows approve vaccines and medications in emergency situations once its security has been verified. Now, as ensitrelvir continues to undergo studies, specialists have published a report that reinforces the pill’s potential for accelerate the recovery of smell and taste.
In the trial, whose results have been published in the Nature magazinepeople with mild or moderate COVID-19 symptoms, of whom 20% reported some level of loss of smell or taste, received 125 or 250 milligrams of ensitrelvir or a placebo. After the third day of treatment, the proportion of participants reporting such symptoms in the ensitrelvir groups began to decline more sharply than the proportion in the placebo group, and by the seventh day, the percentage of participants with loss of smell or taste was 39% lower in the group taking 250 milligram pills than in the placebo group.
Thus, although researchers are aware that many patients They recover these senses naturally, the drug presents very good results. However, there are still no plans to introduce it in Europe or other continents.
Why does covid make you lose your sense of smell?
While fever, cough and nausea always had an explanation in the coronavirus diagnosis, the loss of two of our five senses was disturbing to the scientific community, as it persisted even when congestion was no longer present. Investigations, however, were slow to shed light on the issue.
It was not until 2022 when answers began to emerge: according to the study published in Sciencethere is evidence that COVID-19 damages the support cells around the olfactory nerves, responsible for transporting the stimulus to the brain to be processed. Besides, taste is closely related to smelland after receiving an olfactory stimulus, a part of the taste buds is activated, causing the brain to associate odors with flavors.
With this, the loss or distortion of one or both senses can persist for months and even years, and often causes distress among patients. Now, however, it seems that there is hope for that percentage, lower but just as important, than after COVID-19 was deprived of part of his sensory capacity and, therefore, some of life’s great pleasures.
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