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Hyperosmia
Hyperosmia is an increased olfactory acuity (heightened sense of smell), usually caused by a lower threshold for odor. This perceptual disorder arises when there is an abnormally increased signal at any point between the olfactory receptors and the olfactory cortex. The causes of hyperosmia may be genetic, hormonal, environmental or the result of benzodiazepine withdrawal syndrome. Causes Genetics A study by Menashe et al. has found that individuals with a single nucleotide polymorphism variant in the OR11H7P pseudogene have a lower receptor activation threshold for isovaleric acid. These individuals are hyperosmic for this single odorant. Another study by Keller et al. has found that people with the intact human odorant receptor OR7D4 are more sensitive to androstenone and androstadienone and thus find them unpleasant (individuals with the semi-functional OR7D4 have two non-synonymous single nucleotide polymorphisms in the OR7D4 pseudogene, resulting in two amino acid substituti ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Olfactory
The sense of smell, or olfaction, is the special sense through which smells (or odors) are perceived. The sense of smell has many functions, including detecting desirable foods, hazards, and pheromones, and plays a role in taste. In humans, it occurs when an odor binds to a receptor within the nasal cavity, transmitting a signal through the olfactory system. Glomeruli aggregate signals from these receptors and transmit them to the olfactory bulb, where the sensory input will start to interact with parts of the brain responsible for smell identification, memory, and emotion. There are many different causes for alteration, lack, or disturbance to a normal sense of smell, and can include damage to the nose or smell receptors, or central problems affecting the brain. Some causes include upper respiratory infections, traumatic brain injury, and neurodegenerative disease. History of study Early scientific study of the sense of smell includes the extensive doctoral dissertation of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Benzodiazepine Withdrawal Syndrome
Benzodiazepine withdrawal syndrome often abbreviated to benzo withdrawal or BZD withdrawal is the cluster of signs and symptoms that may emerge when a person who has been taking benzodiazepines, either medically or recreationally develops a physical dependence on them and reduces the dose or ceases their use. Typically Benzodiazepine withdrawal is characterized by sleep disturbance, irritability, mast cell activation, increased tension and anxiety, panic attacks, hand tremor, shaking, sweating, difficulty with concentration, confusion and cognitive difficulty, memory problems, dry retching and nausea, weight loss, palpitations, headache, muscular pain and stiffness, a host of perceptual changes. More serious symptoms may also occur. Awareness of the withdrawal reactions, individualized taper strategies according to withdrawal severity, the addition of alternative strategies such as reassurance and referral to benzodiazepine withdrawal support groups, all increase the succes ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Benzodiazepine Withdrawal Syndrome
Benzodiazepine withdrawal syndrome often abbreviated to benzo withdrawal or BZD withdrawal is the cluster of signs and symptoms that may emerge when a person who has been taking benzodiazepines, either medically or recreationally develops a physical dependence on them and reduces the dose or ceases their use. Typically Benzodiazepine withdrawal is characterized by sleep disturbance, irritability, mast cell activation, increased tension and anxiety, panic attacks, hand tremor, shaking, sweating, difficulty with concentration, confusion and cognitive difficulty, memory problems, dry retching and nausea, weight loss, palpitations, headache, muscular pain and stiffness, a host of perceptual changes. More serious symptoms may also occur. Awareness of the withdrawal reactions, individualized taper strategies according to withdrawal severity, the addition of alternative strategies such as reassurance and referral to benzodiazepine withdrawal support groups, all increase the succes ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Olfaction
The sense of smell, or olfaction, is the special sense through which smells (or odors) are perceived. The sense of smell has many functions, including detecting desirable foods, hazards, and pheromones, and plays a role in taste. In humans, it occurs when an odor binds to a receptor within the nasal cavity, transmitting a signal through the olfactory system. Glomeruli aggregate signals from these receptors and transmit them to the olfactory bulb, where the sensory input will start to interact with parts of the brain responsible for smell identification, memory, and emotion. There are many different causes for alteration, lack, or disturbance to a normal sense of smell, and can include damage to the nose or smell receptors, or central problems affecting the brain. Some causes include upper respiratory infections, traumatic brain injury, and neurodegenerative disease. History of study Early scientific study of the sense of smell includes the extensive doctoral dissertation of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hyposmia
Hyposmia, or microsmia, is a reduced ability to smell and to detect odors. A related condition is anosmia, in which no odors can be detected. Some of the causes of olfaction problems are allergies, nasal polyps, viral infections and head trauma. In 2012 an estimated 9.8 million people aged 40 and older in the United States had hyposmia and an additional 3.4 million had anosmia/severe hyposmia. Hyposmia might be a very early sign of Parkinson's disease.Factor, Stewart A., & Weiner, William J., eds. (2008). ''Parkinson's Disease: Diagnosis and Clinical Management'', 2nd ed., pp. 72-73. New York: Demos Medical Publishing. Hyposmia is also an early and almost universal finding in Alzheimer's disease and dementia with Lewy bodies. Lifelong hyposmia could be caused by Kallmann syndrome or Autism Spectrum Disorder. Along with other chemosensory disturbances, hyposmia can be a key indicator of COVID-19. Epidemiology The National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) collect ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Phantosmia
Phantosmia (phantom smell), also called an olfactory hallucination or a phantom odor, is smelling an odor that is not actually there. It can occur in one nostril or both. Unpleasant phantosmia, cacosmia, is more common and is often described as smelling something that is burned, foul, spoiled, or rotten. Experiencing occasional phantom smells is normal and usually goes away on its own in time. When hallucinations of this type do not seem to go away or when they keep coming back, it can be very upsetting and can disrupt an individual's quality of life. Olfactory hallucinations can be caused by common medical conditions such as nasal infections, nasal polyps, or dental problems. It can result from neurological conditions such as migraines, head injuries, strokes, Parkinson's disease, seizures, or brain tumors. It can also be a symptom of certain mental disorders such as major depression, depression, bipolar disorder, intoxication or drug withdrawal, withdrawal from drugs and alcoho ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Thioridazine Hydrochloride
Thioridazine (Mellaril or Melleril) is a first generation antipsychotic drug belonging to the phenothiazine drug group and was previously widely used in the treatment of schizophrenia and psychosis. The branded product was withdrawn worldwide in 2005 because it caused severe cardiac arrhythmias. However, generic versions are still available in the US. Indications Thioridazine was voluntarily discontinued by its manufacturer, Novartis, worldwide because it caused severe cardiac arrhythmias. Its primary use in medicine was the treatment of schizophrenia. It was also tried with some success as a treatment for various psychiatric symptoms seen in people with dementia, but chronic use of thioridazine and other anti-psychotics in people with dementia is not recommended. Side effects Thioridazine prolongs the QTc interval in a dose-dependent manner. It produces significantly less extrapyramidal side effects than most first-generation antipsychotics, likely due to its potent anti ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Multiple Chemical Sensitivity
Multiple chemical sensitivity (MCS), also known as idiopathic environmental intolerances (IEI), is an unrecognized and controversial diagnosis characterized by chronic symptoms attributed to exposure to low levels of commonly used chemicals. Symptoms are typically vague and non-specific. They may include fatigue, headaches, nausea, and dizziness. Although these symptoms can be debilitating, MCS is not recognized as an organic, chemical-caused illness by the World Health Organization, American Medical Association, nor any of several other professional medical organizations. Blinded clinical trials show that people with MCS react as often and as strongly to placebos as they do to chemical stimuli; the existence and severity of symptoms is seemingly related to the perception that a chemical stimulus is present.J. Das-Munshi, G. J. Rubin, S. Wessely, Multiple chemical sensitivities: A systematic review of provocation studies, ''Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology'', 118, pp.12 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Oliver Sacks
Oliver Wolf Sacks, (9 July 1933 – 30 August 2015) was a British neurologist, naturalist, historian of science, and writer. Born in Britain, Sacks received his medical degree in 1958 from The Queen's College, Oxford, before moving to the United States, where he spent most of his career. He interned at Mount Zion Hospital in San Francisco and completed his residency in neurology and neuropathology at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). After a fellowship at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, he served as neurologist at Beth Abraham Hospital's chronic-care facility in the Bronx, where he worked with a group of survivors of the 1920s sleeping sickness encephalitis lethargica, who had been unable to move on their own for decades. His treatment of those patients became the basis of his 1973 book '' Awakenings'', which was adapted into an Academy Award-nominated feature film in 1990, starring Robin Williams and Robert De Niro. His numerous other best-selling ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Butyrophenones
Butyrophenone is an organic compound with the formula C6H5C(O)C3H7. It is a colorless liquid. The butyrophenone structure—a ketone flanked by a phenyl ring and a butyl chain—forms the basis for many other chemicals containing various substituents. Some of these butyrophenones are used to treat various psychiatric disorders such as schizophrenia, as well as acting as antiemetics. Examples of butyrophenone-derived pharmaceuticals include: * Haloperidol, the most widely used classical antipsychotic drug in this class * Benperidol, the most potent commonly used antipsychotic (200 times more potent than chlorpromazine) * Droperidol, Antiemetic for postoperative nausea and vomiting Postoperative nausea and vomiting (PONV) is the phenomenon of nausea, vomiting, or retching experienced by a patient in the postanesthesia care unit (PACU) or within 24 hours following a surgical procedure. PONV affects about 10% of the population ... References Aromatic ketones Phenyl compound ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Threshold For Odor
The odor detection threshold is the lowest concentration of a certain odor compound that is perceivable by the human sense of smell. The threshold of a chemical compound is determined in part by its shape, polarity, partial charges, and molecular mass. The olfactory mechanisms responsible for a compound's different detection threshold is not well understood. As such, odor thresholds cannot be accurately predicted. Rather, they must be measured through extensive tests using human subjects in laboratory settings. Optical isomers can have different detection thresholds because their conformations may cause them to be less perceivable for the human nose. It is only in recent years that such compounds were separated on gas chromatographs. For raw water treatment and waste water management, the term commonly used is Threshold Odor Number (TON). For instance, the water to be supplied for domestic use in Illinois is 3 TON. Values * The threshold value is the concentration at which an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Amphetamines
Substituted amphetamines are a class of compounds based upon the amphetamine structure; it includes all derivative compounds which are formed by replacing, or substituting, one or more hydrogen atoms in the amphetamine core structure with substituents. The compounds in this class span a variety of pharmacological subclasses, including stimulants, empathogens, and hallucinogens, among others. Examples of substituted amphetamines are amphetamine (itself), methamphetamine, ephedrine, cathinone, phentermine, mephentermine, bupropion, methoxyphenamine, selegiline, amfepramone (diethylpropion), pyrovalerone, MDMA (ecstasy), and DOM (STP). Some of amphetamine's substituted derivatives occur in nature, for example in the leaves of ''Ephedra'' and khat plants. Amphetamine was first produced at the end of the 19th century. By the 1930s, amphetamine and some of its derivative compounds found use as decongestants in the symptomatic treatment of colds and also occasionally as psychoacti ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
