1/42. A 70-year-old man with isolated weight loss and a pellagra-like syndrome due to celiac disease.An elderly man was diagnosed with celiac disease, which presented with three notable features: first, presentation at the age of 70 with no prior gastrointestinal symptomatology or positive family history; second, triggering of all symptoms following recent myocardial infarction and infective endocarditis; third, presentation with marked (more than 20 percent) weight loss and pellagra-like skin lesions despite nearly normal examination and laboratory tests. Thus, celiac disease may present as a pellagra-like syndrome in the elderly with predominant weight loss that is enhanced by the related taste disturbances.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = taste (Clic here for more details about this article) |
2/42. Persistent impairment of taste associated with terbinafine.A second case of persistent taste disturbance associated with terbinafine is described. Taste disturbance associated with this drug is reviewed and a table is provided listing the more common drugs associated with taste disturbance.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 6keywords = taste (Clic here for more details about this article) |
3/42. Alterations in taste sensation: a case presentation of a patient with end-stage pancreatic cancer.Alterations in taste can occur as a result of cancer, cancer treatment, and from a variety of other causes. Cancer patients frequently experience taste alterations, which often go undetected in the clinical setting. This case presentation depicts a 90-year-old client with end-stage pancreatic cancer undergoing chemotherapy treatment with gemcitabine. The symptomatology of taste changes is described. Etiology and rationale for taste changes is presented for the cancer patient population, and for the general population. review of the cancer literature, research instruments, and goals/outcomes are discussed. The author determined that interventional studies are lacking, and research is needed.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 8keywords = taste (Clic here for more details about this article) |
4/42. Terbinafine-associated taste disturbance with normal taste threshold scores.The medical literature reveals numerous reports of transient taste disturbance associated with the use of oral terbinafine. A review of these reports, however, fails to confirm taste disturbances by formal taste testing. In this article, a case of long-standing taste dysfunction in a patient who exhibited normal formal taste thresholds is described.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 13keywords = taste (Clic here for more details about this article) |
5/42. Secretory function of the salivary gland in patients with taste disorders or xerostomia: correlation with zinc deficiency.A notable proportion of patients with taste disorders complain of xerostomia and when zinc is prescribed the xerostomia is often improved in conjunction with the taste disorder. To study the relationship between taste disorders, zinc deficiency and xerostomia, we measured salivary gland function and zinc levels in 93 patients with hypogeusia and/or xerostomia and 60 patients with unilateral acute peripheral facial palsy who served as controls. We then prescribed zinc for patients with low serum zinc levels and evaluated xerostomia and taste sensation after 6 months of this treatment. The salivary gland secretory ratio (SGSR), determined by dynamic salivary 99mTc scintigraphy, was found to be an objective measure of salivary gland function and was reduced in patients with xerostomia. Patients with salivary gland dysfunction also had abnormal morphology of the papillae of the tongue. No significant relation was found between the severity of taste disorders and SGSR values, but low SGSR values were found in patients with zinc deficiency. Patients with taste disorders and/or xerostomia who were treated with zinc had relief of symptoms at 6 months, indicating that both taste disorders and xerostomia are among the symptoms of zinc deficiency.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 11keywords = taste (Clic here for more details about this article) |
6/42. Changes in gustatory sense during pregnancy.Changes in gustatory sense were investigated in 97 pregnant women and in 30 healthy, non-pregnant women who served as controls. All 97 pregnant women completed a questionnaire regarding taste changes and 32 of them underwent serial tests of gustatory function, including electrogustometry and testing with filter paper disks placed over the areas of the chorda tympani nerve and glossopharyngeal nerve. All gustatory testing was performed by the same person. In addition, serum levels of trace elements were measured in 72 of the pregnant women. Of the 97 pregnant women, 90 (92.8%) reported in the questionnaire that they had experienced some type of change in taste during pregnancy, usually a change in sour taste (59 women; 65.6%). pregnant women had higher gustatory thresholds than non-pregnant women, with an especially marked decrease in gustatory function being noticed in the first trimester. Although serum zinc levels decreased in pregnant women between the second and third trimesters, zinc levels were in the normal range in the early stage of pregnancy. Thus, it is difficult to explain dysgeusia in the early stage of pregnancy as being associated with a deficiency of zinc. The decrease in gustatory function during the first trimester is considered to be due to the notable changes in secretion of hormones that occur during this stage.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 3.0537585888239keywords = taste, dysgeusia (Clic here for more details about this article) |
7/42. A case of Cronkhite-canada syndrome whose major complaint, taste disturbance, was improved by zinc therapy.A patient whose major complaint was taste disturbance and who was diagnosed as having Cronkhite-canada syndrome was prescribed zinc sulfate. Improvement in taste disturbance was noted after 3 weeks of treatment, followed by gradual improvement in skin and gastrointestinal symptoms. Cronkhite-canada syndrome can be considered a zinc-deficiency disorder caused by gastrointestinal polyposis.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 6keywords = taste (Clic here for more details about this article) |
8/42. Taste disorder involving Hunter's glossitis following total gastrectomy.We treated five patients with Hunter's glossitis following total gastrectomy. The major complaints of the patients were taste disorder and abnormal glossal sensation. In all five cases, the patient's tongue was red and smooth, and laboratory testing showed the presence of macrocytic anemia and decreased serum concentration of vitamin B12 (cyanocobalamin). Gustometry was carried out in four cases and the results documented the presence of taste disorder. All five patients were treated by administration of vitamin B12, which led to improvements in the appearance of the tongue, the patients' subjective complaints and the results of taste testing. When patients present with a red, smooth tongue, Hunter's glossitis (which can easily be improved by administration of vitamin B12) should be considered in the differential diagnosis.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 3keywords = taste (Clic here for more details about this article) |
9/42. Taste disturbance after tonsillectomy.Of the 3583 outpatients treated at our taste disorder clinic over a period of 15 years, 11 (0.31%) complained of taste disorder after tonsillectomy. The cause of taste disorder was identified in 8 of the 11 cases: in 3 cases it was caused by direct or indirect damage to the lingual branch of the glossopharyngeal nerve; in 2 cases it was attributable to medication taken by the patient after tonsillectomy; and in 3 cases taste disturbance was caused by a lack of dietary zinc, even though this was identified at the time of tonsillectomy. These findings indicate the importance of (i) informing patients when consent for tonsillectomy is obtained that there is a risk of postoperative taste disorder; (ii) measuring the patient's taste threshold and serum zinc level preoperatively; and (iii) obtaining a thorough drug history, including details of non-prescription medications habitually taken by the patient.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 6keywords = taste (Clic here for more details about this article) |
10/42. Course of recovery from taste receptor disturbance.The course of recovery from taste receptor disturbance was studied in 119 patients with moderate-to-severe taste receptor disturbance that was cured or improved with zinc therapy. Taste receptor disturbance was idiopathic in 45 patients, drug-induced in 38 and due to zinc deficiency in 36. Recovery of taste, evaluated by filter paper disk testing and electrogustometry, followed 1 of 3 patterns: (i) in 54 (45.4%) of the 119 cases, taste improved simultaneously in the anterior (innervated by the chorda tympani nerve) and posterior (innervated by the glossopharyngeal nerve) portions of the tongue; (ii) in 53 (44.5%) of the cases, taste improved in the posterior portion first; and (iii) in 12 (10.1%) of the cases, taste improved in the anterior portion first. Zinc therapy was more effective in patients with the "posterior" pattern of recovery, and these patients also recovered the ability to sense sweet and bitter tastes earlier than other tastes. These results indicate that recovery of taste begins on the posterior portion of the tongue, which has an abundance of taste buds. The results of electrogustometry were not helpful in assessing recovery from taste disturbance, but testing for taste using the filter paper disk method on the posterior portion of the tongue was useful for identifying the onset of recovery.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 16keywords = taste (Clic here for more details about this article) |
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