Smell loss is a typical symptom of Covid-19, but numerous viruses have caused smell loss and distortion in the past.
Most individuals recover their sense of smell spontaneously within a few weeks, while many have been left with long-term smell abnormalities.
Vitamin-A has been proven to have potential benefits in the previous German studies, and the UEA team will investigate how this therapy works to help heal tissues in the nose that have been damaged by viruses.
They believe that the study, which was financed by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR), would one day benefit millions of people suffering from scent loss throughout the world by restoring their fifth sense.
To take part in this trial, patients need to be referred to The Smell and Taste Clinic at the James Paget University Hospital by their GP. Recruitment is expected to begin in December 2021.
Prof Carl Philpott of the University of East Anglia’s Norwich Medical School and the James Paget University Hospitals NHS Trust, who led the study, said: “When patients are treated with vitamin-A nasal drops, we want to see if the size and activity of damaged smell pathways in their brains increases.
“We’ll check for changes in the size of the olfactory bulb, which is located above the nose and connects the smell nerves to the brain.
“We’ll also look at activity in brain regions connected to odor recognition.”
