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Biomedical subjects

Thomas Hummel

Publications and source records attributed to Thomas Hummel.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2003

Age-related decline of intranasal trigeminal sensitivity: is it a peripheral event?

Compared to younger subjects, older people have a reduced sensitivity of the intranasal trigeminal system which responds to irritation of the nasal cavity. It is unclear whether the cause of this difference relates to age-dependent changes in the periphery of the system. The aim of the present study was the comparison of intranasal trigeminal thresholds assessed through electrophysiological measurements in eight young (four women, four men; mean age 25 years) and eight older subjects (four women, four men; mean age 62 years). The negative mucosa potential (NMP), a peripheral correlate of trigeminal activation, was recorded from the nasal mucosa in response to stimulation with varying concentrations of the mixed olfactory/trigeminal stimulants menthol and linalool. Thresholds were estimated as the strongest concentration which did not elicit a NMP response. Older subjects were found to have higher thresholds for menthol when compared to younger subjects. Furthermore, an explorative analysis indicated that the increase of response amplitudes to increasing stimulus concentrations was shallower in older subjects. These findings indicate that age related loss of intranasal trigeminal sensitivity seems to take place, at least to some degree, in the periphery of the intranasal trigeminal system.

Acyclic Monoterpenes↗
PubMed2003

Depth of olfactory sulcus and olfactory function.

The aim of this study was to identify whether the depth of the olfactory sulcus relates to olfactory function in healthy subjects. Forty-four healthy, male volunteers (age range 22-45 years, mean age 28.3 years) were included in this study. Olfactory function was measured for phenyl ethyl alcohol odor thresholds, odor discrimination, and odor identification. Magnetic resonance imaging of the olfactory sulcus was performed immediately following olfactometry. Based on previous investigations the depth of the olfactory sulcus was measured in the plane of the posterior tangent through the eyeballs. Olfactory function correlated significantly with left-sided depth of the olfactory sulcus (r(44)=0.33, P=0.03); no such correlation was seen for the right side. In addition, olfactory sulcus depth was found to be significantly deeper on the right compared to the left side (t=5.61, P<0.001). The present results suggest that there is small, but significant relation between morphological brain structures and measures of olfactory function. Further, lateralization of olfactory sulcus depth may correlate to functional lateralization in the olfactory system. Thus, it may be carefully speculated that sensory input in the olfactory system results in cortical growth in the area of the olfactory sulcus, at least at some developmental stage.

Adult↗
PubMed2003

Effects of olfactory function, age, and gender on trigeminally mediated sensations: a study based on the lateralization of chemosensory stimuli.

The present investigation aimed to compare trigeminal nasal function of anosmic and hyposmic patients to healthy controls. Further, we aimed to study effects of age and gender on trigeminally mediated sensations following intranasal chemosensory stimulation. Participants were 35 patients with olfactory dysfunction (n=13: functional anosmia; n=22: hyposmia; age 28-69 years, mean age 56 years). Their results were compared with 17 normosmic subjects (28-82 years, mean 52 years). To analyze effects of age and gender in healthy subjects, an additional 24 healthy subjects were included (19-27 years; mean 24 years). Olfactory function was assessed using the 'Sniffin' Sticks' test kit (butanol odor threshold, odor discrimination, odor identification). The subjects' ability to lateralize odors was investigated for benzaldehyde and eucalyptol. Patients with olfactory dysfunction had lower scores in the lateralization task than controls (P<0.001) indicating decreased trigeminal sensitivity. Among anosmic patients scores were not different in relation to different causes of olfactory dysfunction (P>0.29). There was a weak, but significant, correlation between localization of eucalyptol and duration of olfactory dysfunction (P=0.017). When investigating normosmic subjects only, no gender-related difference was apparent for lateralization scores. However, older subjects had lower scores than younger ones (P<0.01). Results of partial correlational analyses controlling for age suggested a relation between the trigeminal and the olfactory systems. In conclusion, results of the present study indicate that patients with olfactory dysfunction have lower trigeminal sensitivity compared with normosmic controls. This seems to be independent of the cause of olfactory loss. The deficit appears to improve with duration of the olfactory dysfunction, possibly indicating adaptive mechanisms. Further, the data suggest an age-related decrease of intranasal trigeminal sensitivity in healthy subjects. Analyses additionally indicate a correlation between olfactory and trigeminal sensitivity.

Adult↗
PubMed2003

Axonal targeting of olfactory receptor neurons in Drosophila is controlled by Dscam.

Different classes of olfactory receptor neurons (ORNs) in Drosophila innervate distinct targets, or glomeruli, in the antennal lobe of the brain. Here we demonstrate that specific ORN classes require the cell surface protein Dscam (Down Syndrome Cell Adhesion Molecule) to synapse in the correct glomeruli. Dscam mutant ORNs frequently terminated in ectopic sites both within and outside the antennal lobe. The morphology of Dscam mutant axon terminals in either ectopic or cognate targets was abnormal. Target specificity for other ORNs was not altered in Dscam mutants, suggesting that different ORNs use different strategies to regulate wiring. Multiple forms of Dscam RNA were detected in the developing antenna, and Dscam protein was localized to developing ORN axons. We propose a role for Dscam protein diversity in regulating ORN target specificity.

Alleles↗
PubMed2003

Pain in the trigeminal system: irritation of the nasal mucosa using short- and long-lasting stimuli.

The paper describes methods which allow intranasal irritation using short- and long-lasting painful stimuli in humans. Short-lasting pain is induced by gaseous CO(2), while long-lasting pain is induced by a stream of dry air. Both models have been explored regarding their major determinants, e.g. stimulus duration, stimulus intensity, or repeated stimulation. Short-lasting, non-inflammatory pain stimuli seem to provide specific indicators of A(delta)-fiber function, while responses to long-lasting, inflammatory pain appear to be indicative of C-fiber function. Responses to both types of painful stimuli are modulated by analgesic drugs. As these well-investigated models allow the detailed and precise analysis of modulatory effects on intranasal nociception, they appear to be suited for the investigation of subtle changes of intranasal irritation, e.g. induced by environmental agents.

Analgesics↗
PubMed2003

Differences in responses to nociceptive stimulation of the oral and aboral oesophagus.

The present study examined the role of vagal innervation of the rat esophagus in nociception. Electromyographic recordings from neck muscles were used as indicators of pseudoaffective reactions in lightly anaesthetized animals; responses were obtained during mechanical (distension) and chemical (HCl) nociceptive stimulation of the upper cervical (4.5 cm from incisors) and midthoracic (7 cm from incisors) esophagus. Compared to midthoracic esophageal stimulation, stimulation of the upper esophagus produced more vigorous responses. Bilateral transections of the cervical vagus and superior laryngeal nerves led to a gradual diminution of responses to upper stimulation, while the same manoeuvre increased responses to lower esophagus stimulation. These results suggest a contribution of vagal afferents to pseudoaffective responses elicited by noxious stimulation of the upper esophagus.

Animals↗
PubMed2003

Individual differences in sensitivity to the odor of 4,16-androstadien-3-one.

Individual differences in sensitivity to the putative human pheromone androstadienone were investigated in three experiments. In experiment 1, the absolute detection threshold for androstadienone was determined to be 211 micro M using the method of constant stimuli. Detection for the related compound estratetraenol was also investigated but a threshold could not be determined. In experiment 2, using an adaptive threshold test on 100 participants, the sensitivity distribution for androstadienone, but not for the reference odor phenylethyl alcohol, was bimodal, with a smaller group of individuals with a high sensitivity to androstadienone (supersmellers). A lack of correlation between thresholds for androstadienone and phenylethyl alcohol further suggested that the bimodality for androstadienone was not due to individuals with a high general olfactory sensitivity. In line with an earlier observation, there was a statistical tendency for women to be more sensitive to androstadienone than men. Results of experiment 3 preclude the possibility that the bimodal sensitivity distribution for androstadienone would depend on individual differences in trigeminal activation. Altogether, the current study suggests that olfactory sensitivity to androstadienone is bimodally distributed in the population with a subgroup consisting of highly sensitive people.

Adult↗
PubMed2003

Event-related potentials to intranasal trigeminal stimuli change in relation to stimulus concentration and stimulus duration.

Few data are available on the relation of EEG-derived trigeminal event-related potentials (ERPs) to stimulus duration or stimulus concentration. Thus, the aim of this study was to analyze the relation between ERP components and both stimulus duration and stimulus concentration. Twenty healthy young subjects participated. Trigeminal ERPs were recorded after stimulation with CO(2). Five concentrations (45 to 65% volume per volume CO(2)) and five stimulus durations (100 to 300 msec) were used. Trigeminal ERPs were quantified in terms of amplitudes and latencies of its major peaks N(410) (termed N1) and P(622) (termed P3). The relation between stimulus duration, concentration, and amplitudes or latencies of trigeminal ERP components could be described as a model of power, following the formula p = b + k.I g1.D(g2). A linear relationship was found between stimulus concentration, amplitude N1, and amplitude P3, and between stimulus duration and amplitude P3 respectively. Furthermore, a linear relationship was seen between intensity ratings, and stimulus duration and concentration. These data confirm that the different ERP components encode different stimulus characteristics. Specifically, later components of the trigeminal ERP encode not only stimulus concentration but, other than earlier ERP components, also encode stimulus duration. Thus, they reflect the integration of stimuli over relatively long periods of time.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2003

Retronasal olfactory function in nasal polyposis.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the question of whether there is a difference in retronasal olfactory function between patients suffering from chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyposis (NP) and healthy controls. This question was based on the clinical observation that many of these patients present with smell loss without complaining about loss of the appreciation of foods. STUDY DESIGN: Open prospective study comparing symptomatic patients with healthy controls. METHODS: A total of 56 healthy volunteers and 42 NP patients were tested for orthonasal and retronasal odor identification. All subjects received detailed nasal endoscopy; NP was staged according to the Malm classification. Patients rated their olfactory function on visual analogue scales. Orthonasal testing was performed using the "Sniffin' Sticks" test kit. Retronasal testing was evaluated with odorized powders applied to the oral cavity. In both tests, subjects were asked to identify 10 items using a forced choice paradigm. RESULTS: Overall, odor identification was better in controls compared with NP patients (P <.001). Although controls exhibited no difference between orthonasal and retronasal smelling (P =.26), in NP patients, olfactory function was significantly better when odors were applied through the retronasal route (P <.001). Ratings of general olfactory abilities correlated with retronasal and orthonasal olfactory function in NP patients (P <.001) but not in healthy controls (P =.34). CONCLUSION: Better retronasal than orthonasal olfactory function seems to be associated with the presence of mechanical obstruction in the anterior portion of the olfactory cleft. In turn, these data indicate that olfactory loss in NP seems to be caused by regional mechanical or inflammatory factors.

Adult↗
PubMed2003

Circadian rhythm and desensitization in chemosensory event-related potentials in response to odorous and painful stimuli.

Olfactory (H2S) and trigeminal (CO2) event-related potentials (ERPs) were studied with respect to circadian rhythm and desensitization. ERPs, perceived odor and pain intensity, oral temperature, blood pressure, heart rate, nasal volume, and sleepiness were assessed four times at 04:00, 08:00, 12:00, 16:00, 20:00, and 24:00 hr in five young men. For each of these 24 sessions per participant, H2S and CO2 were each presented in 15 series of five stimuli with a 5-s ISI within and 30-s ISI between series. ERP amplitudes, but not latencies, followed a circadian rhythm (largest at 16:00 and smallest at 04:00) similar to oral temperature and opposite to sleepiness. Amplitudes decreased (most pronounced at 16:00 and 20:00) and latencies increased with repeated stimulation, suggesting desensitization, in accordance with odor and pain intensity. These findings imply that circadian rhythm and desensitization should be considered in chemosensory ERP studies.

Adult↗
PubMed2003

Olfactory function in mild cognitive impairment and Alzheimer's disease: an investigation using psychophysical and electrophysiological techniques.

OBJECTIVE: To clarify the olfactory deficit hypothesis regarding Alzheimer's disease, the authors compared olfactory function in patients with Alzheimer's disease, subjects with mild cognitive impairment, and healthy comparison subjects. METHOD: Olfactory function of 14 patients with mild Alzheimer's disease, eight subjects with mild cognitive impairment, and eight healthy age-matched comparison subjects was assessed with both psychophysical tests and olfactory event-related potentials. RESULTS: Group comparison of the psychophysical test results showed a significant main effect of diagnosis for odor detection threshold, odor discrimination, and odor identification. These results correlated only partially with those obtained from olfactory event-related potentials. Seven Alzheimer's disease patients and four with mild cognitive impairment showed no olfactory event-related potentials, suggesting hyposmia, while all comparison subjects had clearly discernible responses. Patients with Alzheimer's disease were significantly more likely to be nonresponders. In the four Alzheimer's disease patients and four subjects with mild cognitive impairment who had clear electrophysiological responses, amplitudes and latencies of the various event-related potential components were normal, i.e., similar to those of the comparison subjects, although 12 of the 14 Alzheimer's disease patients and seven of the eight mildly impaired subjects were classified as functionally anosmic with psychophysical methods. CONCLUSIONS: The electrophysiological results confirm prior findings of olfactory dysfunction in patients with Alzheimer's disease and preclinical Alzheimer's disease. Investigations of larger study groups with detailed cognitive examination and postmortem diagnosis may resolve the intriguing possibility of early diagnosis and discrimination of Alzheimer's disease subtypes through chemosensory event-related potentials in addition to existing biomarkers.

Aged↗
PubMed2003

Olfactory changes at threshold and suprathreshold levels following septoplasty with partial inferior turbinectomy.

Partial inferior turbinectomy with septoplasty is routinely carried out for airway obstruction. However, its effects on the sense of smell have not been systematically evaluated. The aim of this prospective study was to evaluate the influence of septoplasty with partial inferior turbinectomy on threshold and suprathreshold olfactory acuity. The subjects were 30 patients undergoing septoplasty including partial inferior turbinectomy. Olfactory function was determined by the "Sniffin' Sticks," which allow the assessment of odor thresholds, odor discrimination, and odor identification. The patients rated both olfactory function and nasal airflow using visual analog scales. Nasal airflow was measured by anterior rhinomanometry. Multivariate analyses of variance for repeated measures were used to analyze the results before and after surgery (mean interval, 9.1 weeks). After operation, 87% of the patients had increased airflow, 80% had improved olfactory function in terms of odor identification, and in 70% odor discrimination was found to be improved - but only 54% had improved olfactory function in terms of odor thresholds. Surgery increased ratings of nasal airflow in 93%, and those of olfactory function in 77% (p < .001). Similarly, bilateral inspiratory nasal flow increased (p < .001) and olfactory function was improved (p < .001) after surgical treatment. However, this increase was most pronounced for suprathreshold tests, while it was moderate for odor thresholds (interaction "surgery" x "olfactory test," p = .001). The present investigation suggests that septoplasty in combination with inferior turbinectomy has a beneficial effect on olfaction, mainly on suprathreshold olfactory functions. This effect may be partly due to interactions between the increased perception of nasal airflow and cognitive factors involved in olfactory sensitivity. According to the present results and data from the literature, a moderate decrease of olfactory function appears to occur in as many as 20% of patients. However, anosmia seems to be an extremely rare complication of septoplasty and partial turbinectomy.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2002

Intranasal chemosensory function of the trigeminal nerve and aspects of its relation to olfaction.

OBJECTIVES: The review outlines characteristics of the intranasal trigeminal chemosensory system. In addition, it provides selective comparisons of the trigeminal and olfactory systems, the two of which interact at multiple levels. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS: This interaction between the trigeminal and olfactory systems is an important determinant of sensations of odor. Further, it appears to change as a result of aging and disease. Thus, the interaction between the olfactory and trigeminal systems is not straightforward and may be difficult to predict, but it has a powerful influence on the perception of odors.

Aging↗
PubMed2002

Characterization of a novel Drosophila melanogaster galectin. Expression in developing immune, neural, and muscle tissues.

We have cloned and characterized the first galectin to be identified in Drosophila melanogaster. The amino acid sequence of Drosophila galectin showed striking sequence similarity to invertebrate and vertebrate galectins and contained amino acids that are crucial for binding beta-galactoside sugars. Confirming its identity as a galectin family member, the Drosophila galectin bound beta-galactoside sugars. Structurally, the Drosophila galectin was a tandem repeat galectin containing two carbohydrate recognition domains connected by a unique peptide link. This divalent structure suggests that like mammalian galectins, Drosophila galectin may mediate cell-cell communication or facilitate cross-linking of receptors to trigger signal transduction events. The Drosophila galectin was very abundant in embryonic, larval, and adult Drosophila. During embryogenesis, Drosophila galectin had a unique and specific tissue distribution. Drosophila galectin expression was concentrated in somatic and visceral musculature and in the central nervous system. Similar to other insect lectins, Drosophila galectin may function in both embryogenesis and in host defense. Drosophila galectin was expressed by hemocytes, circulating phagocytic cells, suggesting a role for Drosophila galectin in the innate immune system.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed2002

Temporal control of glial cell migration in the Drosophila eye requires gilgamesh, hedgehog, and eye specification genes.

In the Drosophila visual system, photoreceptor neurons (R cells) extend axons towards glial cells located at the posterior edge of the eye disc. In gilgamesh (gish) mutants, glial cells invade anterior regions of the eye disc prior to R cell differentiation and R cell axons extend anteriorly along these cells. gish encodes casein kinase Igamma. gish, sine oculis, eyeless, and hedgehog (hh) act in the posterior region of the eye disc to prevent precocious glial cell migration. Targeted expression of Hh in this region rescues the gish phenotype, though the glial cells do not require the canonical Hh signaling pathway to respond. We propose that the spatiotemporal control of glial cell migration plays a critical role in determining the directionality of R cell axon outgrowth.

Animals↗
PubMed2002

Clinical assessment of retronasal olfactory function.

OBJECTIVES: To develop a test kit for the simple assessment of retronasal olfactory function and to compare orthonasal and retronasal olfactory function in healthy subjects and patients with olfactory disorders. DESIGN AND PATIENTS: We tested 230 individuals with normosmia, hyposmia, and anosmia using grocery-available powders. Initially, 30 different substances were investigated. Subjects identified each substance using a list with 4 verbal items (forced choice). After preliminary experiments, 20 items were selected according to the degree to which they were identified by normosmic and anosmic subjects. Orthonasal olfactory function was assessed psychophysically using "sniffin' sticks," which includes tests for odor identification, discrimination, and butanol odor thresholds. In addition, anosmia was confirmed electrophysiologically by means of olfactory-evoked potentials. RESULTS: In healthy subjects, there was a test-retest reliability correlation of r(27) = 0.76 for retronasal olfactory function, which is similar to other odor identification tests. Retronasal testing in normosmic subjects allowed for the discrimination of sex-related differences, with women scoring higher than men (P =.007), and the identification of a slight decrease with age (r(120) = -0.20; P =.03). Orthonasal and retronasal identification of odors was found to correlate (r(86) = 0.78; P<.001). Retronasal testing allowed for the discrimination between normosmia, hyposmia, and anosmia (P<.001). In addition, retronasal performance of anosmic patients appeared to improve with duration of anosmia (P =.03). No difference was found between patients with anosmia of different origin. CONCLUSION: Results of the present investigation indicate that the assessment of retronasal olfactory function is possible using oral stimulus presentation.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2002

Characteristics of olfactory disorders in relation to major causes of olfactory loss.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the consequences of olfactory loss and explore specific questions related to the effect of duration of olfactory loss, degree of olfactory sensitivity, and cause of the olfactory loss. PATIENTS: A total of 278 consecutive patients with hyposmia or anosmia were examined. RESULTS: Causes of olfactory loss were categorized as follows: trauma (17%), upper respiratory tract infection (URI) (39%), sinonasal disease (21%), congenital anosmia (3%), idiopathic causes (18%), or other causes (3%). Our data suggest that (1) recovery rate was higher in URI olfactory loss than in olfactory loss from other causes; (2) likelihood of recovery seemed to decrease with increased duration of olfactory loss; and (3) the elderly are more prone to URI olfactory loss than younger patients. Regarding changes in quality of life (QoL), we found that (1) in most patients olfactory loss caused food-related problems; (2) loss in QoL did not change with duration of olfactory loss; (3) younger patients had more complaints than older ones, and women had more complaints than men; (4) complaint scores were higher in hyposmic patients than in anosmic patients; and (5) self-rated depression did not relate to measured olfactory function. CONCLUSIONS: Among many complaints of olfactory loss, the predominant ones were food related. This loss in QoL seemed to be of greater importance in younger than in older people, and women seem to be affected more strongly than men.

Activities of Daily Living↗