ReviewTrends in neurosciences2023
Olfactory dysfunction in COVID-19: new insights into the underlying mechanisms.
Review in Trends in neurosciences, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 88 papers, 4 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
88 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 118 citations in OpenAlex.
- Therapeutic effect of anti-neuroinflammatory supplement combined with olfactory training on post-covid olfactory dysfunction: a systematic review and meta-analysis.European archives of oto-rhino-laryngology : official journal of the European Federation of Oto-Rhino-Laryngological Societies (EUFOS) : affiliated with the German Society for Oto-Rhino-Laryngology - Head and Neck Surgery · 2026Pooled it
- Neurobiological mechanisms of olfactory dysfunction: a ten-year bibliometric and visualization analysis.Frontiers in medicine · 2026Pooled it
- Pooled it
- The assessment of qualitative olfactory dysfunction in COVID-19 patients: a systematic review of tools and their content validity.Frontiers in psychology · 2023Pooled it
- Effect of Olfactory Training in COVID-19 Related Olfactory Dysfunction-A Placebo-Controlled Trial.The Laryngoscope · 2025Trial
- The characteristics of chemosensory losses in the symptomatology of long-COVID.European archives of oto-rhino-laryngology : official journal of the European Federation of Oto-Rhino-Laryngological Societies (EUFOS) : affiliated with the German Society for Oto-Rhino-Laryngology - Head and Neck Surgery · 2026Article
- Possible Volumetric Changes in the Hippocampus and Olfactory Bulbs After COVID-19: A Stereological MRI Study.Viruses · 2026Article
- Exploring the Paradoxical Association Between Chest CT Pulmonary Involvement and Olfactory Dysfunction in COVID-19 Patients: A Prospective Cross-Sectional Study.Health science reports · 2026Article
- Neuron-intrinsic and glial pathways regulate sensory cilia regeneration in adultbioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026Article
- Dual-transcriptomic analysis of human nasal transcriptome and microbiome reveals host-bacteria associations in symptomatic respiratory infection.BMC genomics · 2026Article
- One-year longitudinal cohort study of chemosensory recovery and plasma biomarker dynamics in SARS-CoV-2 survivors.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- Novel mechanisms of chemosensory adaptation to the cave environment.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026Article
- Associations Between Nasal Receptors and Olfactory Dysfunction and Dysgeusia in Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19).Journal of clinical medicine · 2026Article
- Nitric oxide induces p53-mediated cell death in human nasal epithelial cells.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- Global research trends and hotspot evolution of olfactory dysfunction from 2014 to 2024: a bibliometric analysis.Annals of medicine and surgery (2012) · 2026Review
- Review
- Does Provider's Supportive Communication Enhance Trust and Treatment Adherence Attitudes in Mild and Severe Dysfunction Scenarios? A Web-Based Experimental Study.Patient preference and adherence · 2026Article
- Multi-omics analysis of long COVID (post-COVID-19 condition) reveals persistent mitochondrial dysfunction, suppressed oxidative phosphorylation, and immune dysregulation.Frontiers in immunology · 2026Article
- Article
- Self-reported cognitive and affective complaints associated with olfactory loss in an online survey of individuals with COVID-19.European archives of oto-rhino-laryngology : official journal of the European Federation of Oto-Rhino-Laryngological Societies (EUFOS) : affiliated with the German Society for Oto-Rhino-Laryngology - Head and Neck Surgery · 2025Article
28 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
Abstract
The mechanisms of olfactory dysfunction in COVID-19 are still unclear. In this review, we examine potential mechanisms that may explain why the sense of smell is lost or altered. Among the current hypotheses, the most plausible is that death of infected support cells in the olfactory epithelium causes, besides altered composition of the mucus, retraction of the cilia on olfactory receptor neurons, possibly because of the lack of support cell-derived glucose in the mucus, which powers olfactory signal transduction within the cilia. This mechanism is consistent with the rapid loss of smell with COVID-19, and its rapid recovery after the regeneration of support cells. Host immune responses that cause downregulation of genes involved in olfactory signal transduction occur too late to trigger anosmia, but may contribute to the duration of the olfactory dysfunction.
Indexed as
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What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.