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Olfactory function influences social behavior. For instance, olfaction seems to play a key role in mate choice and helps detecting emotions in other people. In a previous study, we showed that people who were born without a sense of smell exhibit enhanced social insecurity. Based on the comments to this article we decided to have a closer look to whether the absence of the sense of smell affects men and women differently. Under this focus questionnaire data of 32 patients, diagnosed with isolated congenital anosmia (10 men, 22 women) and 36 age-matched healthy controls (15 men, 21 women) was reanalyzed. In result, men and women without a sense of smell reported enhanced social insecurity, but with different consequences: Men who were born without a sense of smell exhibit a strongly reduced number of sexual relationships and women are affected such that they feel less secure about their partner. This emphasizes the importance of the sense of smell for intimate relationships., (Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Background: Isolated congenital anosmia is a disorder (ICA) characterized by not or only rudimentary developed central olfactory structures. This results in the lack of the sense of smell since birth. Although this phenomenon is known among clinicians almost no knowledge exists on how those people cope with the disorder., Material and Methods: 43 people with ICA were asked with a standardised questionnaire about when they fi rst noticed their disorder, how they experience the lack of smelling ability and about different aspects of daily life., Results: ICA is detected by the patients self or by their parents at the age of 10 in average. However about 13 years pass, until the right diagnosis is confirmed. In contrast to people with acquired olfactory loos ICA patients have developed strategies to adapt to the deficit in daily life. Nevertheless they report increased social insecurity and more hazardous events., Conclusion: The results can be of advantage for clinicians and patients to get a better understanding of the disorder., (© Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.)

We perceive odors orthonasally during sniffing; in contrast, we perceive odors retronasally during eating when they enter the nose through the pharynx. There are clear differences between orthonasal and retronasal olfaction in neuronal processing and perception, so that these two pathways convey two distinct sensory signals. The perception of foods is based on the interaction between ortho- and retronasal smell, taste, trigeminal activation and texture, so it is difficult to investigate one of these factors in isolation. Specific clinical aspects include effects of retronasal olfaction on satiation and swallowing., (Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

The aim of this pilot study was to investigate olfactory function in unselected, cooperative patients with ischemic stroke and to gain information about olfactory perception in patients with distinct stroke localizations. Three ischemic stroke patients underwent olfactory testing using the Sniffin' Sticks test and olfactory event-related potentials recording. All stroke patients were found to be normosmic or only slightly hyposmic when using a psychophysical testing device with age-adjusted norms. No responses or longer latencies on the affected side were found, however, when recording evoked potentials. This seems to argue for the idea that on the affected side it is often possible to document the objective lesion although the subjective perception of the patient appears normal.

Food is evaluated for various attributes. One of the key food evaluation domains is hedonicity. As food is consumed, its hedonic valence decreases (due to prolonged sensory stimulation) and hedonic habituation results. The aim of the present study was to investigate changes in food pleasantness ratings during consumption of a simple food by individuals without olfactory experience with food as compared to normosmics. 15 congenital anosmics and 15 normosmic controls were each presented with ten 10 g banana slices. Each was visually inspected, then smelled and chewed for ten seconds and subsequently rated for hedonicity on a 21-point scale. There was a significant difference in pleasantness ratings between congenital anosmics and controls (F(1, 26) = 6.71, p = .02) with the anosmics exhibiting higher ratings than the controls, a significant main repeated-measures effect on the ratings (F(1.85, 48) = 12.15, p<.001), which showed a decreasing trend over the course of consumption, as well as a significant portion*group interaction (F(1.85, 48) = 3.54, p = .04), with the anosmic participants experiencing a less pronounced decline. The results of the present explorative study suggest that over the course of consumption of a simple food, congenitally anosmic individuals experience differential patterns of appreciation of food as compared to normosmics. In this particular case, the decrease of hedonic valence was less pronounced in congenital anosmics.

Renal anomalies present a challenge to surgeons who repair aortic aneurysms; horseshoe kidneys occur in 1 out of 400 people in the general population. The degree of fusion, accessory blood supply and ureteric anomalies all affect the approach to aneurysm repair in the elective or emergency setting. The authors report two patients with ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysms, who were found at operation to have a horseshoe kidney. In both cases a thick renal isthmus was found crossing the aorta between the inferior mesenteric artery and the bifurcation. The kidney was preserved intact, accessory blood supply was controlled from inside the aorta and the aneurysm was repaired with a Dacron graft. One patient underwent ureterolysis; although renal failure subsequently developed, it was likely related to prolonged preoperative hypotension. The other patient recovered without complications.

This study investigated the effect of purified bovine collagen (Zyderm collagen implant) on peripheral nerve tissue in rats. Zyderm was injected extrafascicularly and intrafascicularly into the sciatic nerve of adult Wistar rats. The nerves were examined by light and electron microscopy and the integrity of the blood-nerve barrier assessed by protein tracer technique. With light microscopy the precise anatomical location of the injected material could be identified. The purified bovine collagen did not appear to be neurotoxic. After extrafascicular injection, only minimal nerve fiber damage was seen. Intrafascicular injection produced a histological picture compatible with compression neuropathy and was associated with a breakdown in the blood-nerve barrier.