USA Today: Up the nose, into the brain?
UC ear, nose and throat specialist examines link between COVID-19 smell loss, depression
Ahmad Sedaghat, MD, PhD, associate professor in the UC College of Medicine and UC Health physician, spoke with journalist Terry DeMio about a correlation between the loss of smell and taste and depression in COVID-19 patients.
The real question is why do you feel depressed when you have COVID-19 with smell loss? The answer could be that the disease caused by the novel coronavirus might be attacking your brain. Research from Dr. Sedaghat, an internationally recognized expert in rhinology indicates that COVID-19 may not only be knocking out the sense of smell for some but also using the olfactory tract as a way to get into the brain.
And once in the central nervous system, the illness might be causing the depression and anxiety that those with smell loss exhibit. No one will know that for sure until more research is done.
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