Neurological fundamentals of long-term COVID-19 induced smell and gustatory dysfunctions – a pilot study

过去3年，COVID-19影响了6.4亿多人。嗅觉和味觉功能障碍（嗅觉障碍）是最常见的症状，在超过一半的康复患者中持续存在。嗅觉障碍/味觉障碍影响味觉，这是通过增加使用盐和脂肪来补偿的。因此，可以预见的是，长期的嗅觉障碍/阅读障碍可能会导致不健康的饮食行为，并导致体重增加和肥胖。为了确定长期与COVID-19相关的嗅觉障碍/语言障碍的基本原理和后果，我们旨在研究参与风味感知和随后的奖励处理的大脑区域的结构和功能变化，以及它们对食物选择和体重的影响。将在BG Universitätsklinikum Bergmannsheil Bochum招募约180名长期covid -19综合征患者。在基线（即住院1周后）和1年后评估患者的体重指数、嗅觉/味觉感知以及相应大脑区域的功能和结构。在两次测试之间的12个月里，研究人员将通过智能手机应用程序持续评估饮食行为。研究结果应有助于更好地了解最常见的长期COVID-19症状，并可能在未来允许对涉及嗅觉障碍/语言障碍的大脑区域进行功能调节。

COVID-19 affected more than 640 million persons over the last 3 years. Smell and gustatory dysfunction (dysosmia/dysgeusia) are the most common symptoms which have been found to persist in more than half of recovered patients. Dysosmia/dysgeusia affect flavor perception, which is compensated by an increased use salt and fat. Therefore, it can be expected that long-lasting dysosmia/dysgeusia may lead to unhealthy eating behaviors and contribute to weight gain and obesity. To identify the fundamentals and consequences of long-lasting COVID-19 related dysosmia/dysgeusia, we aim at investigating the structural and functional changes in brain regions involved in flavor perception and subsequent reward processing, as well as their influence on food choices and body weight. A total of ~180 patients with long-COVID-19 syndrome, will be recruited at the BG Universitätsklinikum Bergmannsheil Bochum. Patients’ body mass index, olfactory/gustatory perception, and function and structure of corresponding brain regions will be assessed at baseline (i.e., directly after their one-week inpatient stay) and 1 year later. Eating behavior will be continually assessed with a smartphone application during the 12 months in-between both sessions. Findings should contribute to the better understanding of the most frequent long-lasting COVID-19 symptom and may in future allow the functional modulation of brain regions involved in dysosmia/dysgeusia.