Losing the sense of smell or taste was one of the peculiarities of the Covid-19 infection.
For many long Covid sufferers, classed as those whose symptoms last more than three months, it has continued for years despite efforts to treat the problem. About 3 per cent to 5 per cent of sufferers develop long Covid, previous research by the University of Oxford found.
Now, experts at University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (UCLH) have successfully used a technique for correcting blocked nasal passages on patients who have suffered a profound loss of smell after a Covid infection.
One 27-year-old patient in the new UCLH study has had her sense of smell return almost to normal and is now expanding the range of foods she can eat.
All patients taking part in the research had an impaired sense of smell for longer than two years and other treatment, such as smell training or corticosteroids, had failed
The operation, known as functional septorhinoplasty (fSRP), is typically used to correct any deviation of the nasal septum, increasing the size of nasal passageways. This, in turn, increases the airflow into the roof of the nasal cavity, which controls smell.
Researchers believe increasing the delivery of odorants (chemical compounds that have a smell) to this area “kick starts” smell recovery in patients who have lost that sense due to long Covid.
Penelope Newman, 27, from south London, took part in the trial. Her results have been published in the journal Facial Plastic Surgery.
She said: “Before I had the surgery on my nose, I had begun to accept that I would probably never be able to smell or taste things the way I used to. It seemed dire, and after around two and a half years of parosmia [impaired sense of smell], I had totally changed my lifestyle.
“For those who have experienced this, they will know how isolating it can be. The food I could cook and eat was so limited, and I couldn’t go out to restaurants as I would feel unwell. Getting something as drastic as surgery was a risk I was willing to take, on the small chance it might help.
“Since the surgery, I have begun to enjoy food and smells the same way I used to. I can now cook and eat garlic and onions, and people can cook for me, too. I can go out to eat with my friends and family.
“My taste and smell have almost returned to normal," she added. "I’m not sure if it will ever fully return as I still have a small reduction in it, but I am so glad that I am no longer as isolated as I once was.”
The new research was led by Prof Peter Andrews, senior consultant surgeon in rhinology and facial plastic surgery, and Alfonso Luca Pendolino, then-senior rhinology fellow at UCLH.
It included 25 long Covid patients, with 12 of the patients undergoing fSRP, while the control group of 13 patients continued with smell training – sniffing the same scents repeatedly – for the study.
Sense of smell was measured over the duration of the study by using the Sniffin’ Sticks test, a widely used clinical test to detect smell.
All patients who had fSRP reported an improved sense of smell compared with none of the patients in the sniff test group, where 40 per cent actually reported the sense worsening.
The experts said the surgery was particularly good at increasing odour sensitivity by lowering the odour threshold – the minimal concentration of an odour a person can actually smell – which is specifically noted in long Covid patients with the impaired sense.
Prof Andrews said sense of smell “is bit like a muscle ... the more you use it, the stronger it is. Just like a muscle.”
The surgery increases the airway by about 30 per cent, so air flow also increases by about 30 per cent.
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
The five pillars of Islam
1. Fasting
2. Prayer
3. Hajj
4. Shahada
5. Zakat
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Key recommendations
- Fewer criminals put behind bars and more to serve sentences in the community, with short sentences scrapped and many inmates released earlier.
- Greater use of curfews and exclusion zones to deliver tougher supervision than ever on criminals.
- Explore wider powers for judges to punish offenders by blocking them from attending football matches, banning them from driving or travelling abroad through an expansion of ‘ancillary orders’.
- More Intensive Supervision Courts to tackle the root causes of crime such as alcohol and drug abuse – forcing repeat offenders to take part in tough treatment programmes or face prison.
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UAE squad
Rahul Chopra (captain), Aayan Afzal Khan, Ali Naseer, Aryansh Sharma, Basil Hameed, Dhruv Parashar, Junaid Siddique, Muhammad Farooq, Muhammad Jawadullah, Muhammad Waseem, Omid Rahman, Rahul Bhatia, Tanish Suri, Vishnu Sukumaran, Vriitya Aravind
Fixtures
Friday, November 1 – Oman v UAE
Sunday, November 3 – UAE v Netherlands
Thursday, November 7 – UAE v Oman
Saturday, November 9 – Netherlands v UAE
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Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
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The biog
From: Upper Egypt
Age: 78
Family: a daughter in Egypt; a son in Dubai and his wife, Nabila
Favourite Abu Dhabi activity: walking near to Emirates Palace
Favourite building in Abu Dhabi: Emirates Palace
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The biog
Age: 59
From: Giza Governorate, Egypt
Family: A daughter, two sons and wife
Favourite tree: Ghaf
Runner up favourite tree: Frankincense
Favourite place on Sir Bani Yas Island: “I love all of Sir Bani Yas. Every spot of Sir Bani Yas, I love it.”
Sheikh Zayed's poem
When it is unveiled at Abu Dhabi Art, the Standing Tall exhibition will appear as an interplay of poetry and art. The 100 scarves are 100 fragments surrounding five, figurative, female sculptures, and both sculptures and scarves are hand-embroidered by a group of refugee women artisans, who used the Palestinian cross-stitch embroidery art of tatreez. Fragments of Sheikh Zayed’s poem Your Love is Ruling My Heart, written in Arabic as a love poem to his nation, are embroidered onto both the sculptures and the scarves. Here is the English translation.
Your love is ruling over my heart
Your love is ruling over my heart, even a mountain can’t bear all of it
Woe for my heart of such a love, if it befell it and made it its home
You came on me like a gleaming sun, you are the cure for my soul of its sickness
Be lenient on me, oh tender one, and have mercy on who because of you is in ruins
You are like the Ajeed Al-reem [leader of the gazelle herd] for my country, the source of all of its knowledge
You waddle even when you stand still, with feet white like the blooming of the dates of the palm
Oh, who wishes to deprive me of sleep, the night has ended and I still have not seen you
You are the cure for my sickness and my support, you dried my throat up let me go and damp it
Help me, oh children of mine, for in his love my life will pass me by.
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