Smell and Taste Disorders
About this PSP
The Smell and Taste Disorders Priority Setting Partnership (PSP) has its origins in the beginnings of Fifth Sense, the charity set up to support those with smell and taste disorders. The charity had been planning to do the JLA PSP for a number of years and it formed one part of the development plan that was submitted to the National Lottery Community Fund in 2019. The fund provided the budget to support this project and finally enable it to happen.
A diverse group of stakeholders came together to form this PSP to find out what matters to patients, carers and clinicians in the field of smell and taste disorders. Professor Carl Philpott, Professor of Rhinology and Olfactology at the University of East Anglia and Director of Research and Medical Affairs at Fifth Sense was the professional lead for the PSP Steering Group and was supported by clinicians across ENT, Neurology, Psychology and Primary Care, and patient and carer representatives from a range of conditions and causes.
The Smell and Taste Disorders Top 10 was published in May 2022.
Top 10 priorities
- How can we further our understanding of the mechanism of disease in the nerve pathways that affect smell and taste disorders, including where parosmia and phantosmia exist.
- How can medical professionals be better educated in treating smell / taste disorders?
- Do stem cells have the potential to treat smell and taste disorders?
- How can regeneration of smell receptors be used to treat smell or taste disorders?
- What are the mental health consequences of smell/taste disorders and how can these be managed effectively?
- How can medical technology (e.g implants) be used to rehabilitate sense of smell/taste?
- How can the testing and investigations into smell/taste disorders be improved?
- What role does genetics play in smell/taste disorders?
- Are there any effective treatments for smell and taste disorders due to COVID-19 or any other viral infection?
- What coping strategies help in dealing with smell/taste disorders?
The following questions were also discussed and put in order of priority at the workshop:
- How can we determine the underlying mechanism for those smell and taste disorders that have no apparent cause?
- How can the understanding of the fluctuation and variation of symptoms be improved?
- What is the prognosis for different smell and taste disorders and what factors affect it?
- Are smell and taste disorder symptoms affected by hormone changes, such as those associated with pregnancy, periods or menopause?
- How can smell and taste disorders resulting from head injury be effectively treated?
- How can home remedies or alternative therapies (acupuncture, herbal, homeopathic, etc) help with the recovery of taste and smell?
- How can the safety risk (spoilt food, smoke, etc) that comes with smell and taste disorders be reduced?
- Do surgical interventions have the potential to improve the management of smell and taste disorders?
- Are there possible treatments for people who have lost their sense of smell from having Parkinson's disease?
- Are there any food or vitamins/food supplements that can help with smell and taste?
- How effective is smell training when a person has had anosmia for many years?
- How can other senses be used to compensate for loss of smell and taste?
- How can lifestyle habits (e.g exercise, mindfulness) help with smell and taste disorders?
- How can enjoyment of food and drink be improved for people experiencing smell and taste disorders?
Document downloads
For full details of all of the questions identified by this PSP, please see the document below.