A new study has linked loss of smell to inflammation in nearly 140 medical conditions and these include those related to ageing and menopause, and therefore, could be an early sign of neurological and bodily diseases. The study was published in the journal Frontiers in Molecular Neuroscience. Inflammation is a natural response of the immune system to injury, infection, or harmful response.
It acts as a protective mechanism which aims to remove harmful agents and help in tissue repair. When you have an inflammation, your body releases immune cells and blood flow increases to the affected area. Researchers of the study say that the results highlight the role that our sense of smell plays in maintaining physical and mental health.
Michael Leon, a professor emeritus at the University of California-Irvine, US and lead author of the study, said, “The data are particularly interesting because we had previously found that olfactory (smell-related) enrichment can improve the memory of older adults by 226 per cent.” Leon added, “We now know that pleasant scents can decrease inflammation, potentially pointing to the mechanism by which such scents can improve brain health.” The researchers say that the findings could have implications for addressing symptoms and possibly reducing the onset of certain diseases by treating one’s sense of smell, which can often precede ageing-related conditions such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases.
For the study, the researchers tracke.