THANK YOU for this!!! I'm here in Vestavia, 90 years old, never tested for Covid, believe that I probably had it last year and stayed home 5 days. I have lost my sense of smell, regaining a little to notice perfume but flavors in cooking are not back. This information in invaluable. I will follow your blog for further information. You are a gift to your fellow humans!
Also, in a lot of the literature, the first wave folks with very mild symptoms (March 2020) keep coming up as most affected. For many, the smell returned negligibly or partially, and fluctuates somewhat.
I got it in July of 2020 and lost my smell entirely. Took a long time, eventually it came back about 80% but it definitely fluctuates a lot. I got sick again recently and my smell is back down to 20 or 30%. It’s really frustrating.
It is *possible* that is because the microglia launched an aggressive response before the virus spread beyond the olfactory cortex. The anosmia may be more noticeable when everything else is relatively mild. I would have to read more about it. Thanks! - Jarred Younger
I literally think I just lost (hopefully only temporarily) my loss of smell yesterday after a few days of flu-like symptoms and have been going through a range of emotions from depression to apprehension. I have been frenetically searching for any information about this, and 100% YOU ABSOLUTELY GAVE THE BEST EXPLANATION and have somewhat calmed me. THANK YOU AND I HAVE LIKED AND SUBSCRIBED!!!!!!!!
Thank you. A ray of hope. Year 5. All Drs here are gaslighting on this, including ENT. Also, it seems Anosmia / Dysguesia presents with other neuro / cognitive issues like brain fog for a lot of people.
I have impaired smell since 2020 which recently got worse with a new flu. And yes, I do also deal with severe brain fog and migraines. I don’t even bother with regular Drs, they seem like the last to know just about everything. I really appreciate the intelligent ones like Dr Younger though.
I definitely know people from the early waves who still don't have their sense of smell back, so I don't think we should ignore it even though there aren't as many new cases these days. - Jarred Younger
@@ashleylala4293it is just common sense that researchers know before practicing docs. No one has the answers yet, so not knowing is not a deficiency. You are right to look for help beyond what doctors can do until that fine day when docs can help.
It’s was years ago that I read it so the details are foggy for me. But I remember a congressman or senator (or possibly a group of them) writing an open letter about gulf war syndrome possibly being caused by a biowarfare agent called mycoplasma. I haven’t heard any updates since then but I’m wondering if that pathogen is associated with anosmia. Might be worth researching a bit. I hope yours improves. Its a really annoying symptom I deal with as well.
Even if mycoplasma was an exposure during the Gulf War it would be difficult to prove it causes loss of smell. Since neuroinflammation is recognized as a symptom associated with Gulf War exposures, I think I would have more luck going this route connecting loss of smell to Gulf War participation. I will still look up mycoplasma.
Fascinating Jarred.. Thank you! I now have a full understanding of what exactly happened to me after my covid infection in mid 2022. The loss of smell & the associated, inevitable loss of taste was very upsetting and lasted for a long time..still not probably back 100%.
I hope it recovers completely. I know people who had it in early 2020 and are now around 90% better. We haven't seen signs of any neural damage, so it should be possible to get to 100% with time (unless the immune system needs an additional push to calm down). - Jarred Younger
I came to the same conclusion around the same time and boy were people mad at me when I called it brain damage. The warning sign of that symptom is why I put an n95 on and never took it off. Keep up the good work 👍
Please be careful. There are things that the body exhales because it is trying to eliminate them. The N95 is forcing it to rebreathe those exhalations. Also, I got a lot more sinus problems and infections from wearing those masks back in the day. A better option, imho is a nasal blocking spray such as CofixRX. Dr Been has good videos about it on his channel.
Thanks! Fortunately, it looks like the neurons are intact, so the sense of smell should return once the microglia have calmed down, though that may take a long time for some people. - Jarred Younger
Thanks so much for covering this! I haven’t watched yet, but will soon. I was very sick last Christmas and lost my sense of smell. I took two Covid tests at the time, and they were negative. There are a few things that I can taste, that taste/smell good (mostly sweets), but almost everything I can smell is a weird smell that I’ve never smelled before this happened. Every now and then I will randomly notice a “new” fleeting smell that no one else in the room can smell. It’s weird. I also suddenly have flashbacks of the memory of certain smells/tastes from the past.
Yes that is parosmia and is a common variant of the outright anosmia. The olfactory system is incredibly complex connecting thousands of chemicals to specific neural signals. It does't take too much disturbance to cause drastic changes in smell. - Jarred Younger
I was put on low dose Naltrexone. After the fourth dose my lymph nodes swelled up and I developed discomfort in my liver region. Over the years, probably from the Gulf War, my body has become hypersensitive and intolerant to numerous exposures including medications.
It might be worth going to see a Functional MD or good Naturopath if you can, they are good at checking toxin levels and helping to assist the body to eliminate them. I used to live on land that was an old military base and I got very sick from the chemicals there. Specifically bromopropane and perchlorate. It’s important to go to the right kind of Drs who know how to run those test. Standard allopathic MDs are not well informed when it comes to environmental exposures and toxins.
I'm sorry that happened! It isn't a typical response to LDN and I'm not sure if the LDN caused the new symptoms. But if I stopped LDN and then the symptoms came back when I tried LDN again, I would stop using it completely. - Jarred Younger
Another fascinating video - thank you! I believe many MECFS patients, including myself had frequent sinus infections for years before getting MECFS. We all question whether the frequent antibiotics contributed to Coming down with this long-term illness. But, I’ve also always been curious about the sinus/ brain barrier And whether somehow infections were crossing into the brain. I’ve never thankfully struggled with long term loss of smell. Do infections travel deeper into the brain past the smell processing area?
This fascinates me. Hubby is constantly smelling things that aren't there. He tests positive for EBV even now, and I wonder if that's one that crosses this barrier that way.
I have actually had that infrequently in the past couple of years. It is so strong that I look around to see who is playing a trick on me. I don't know what is going on with that. It lasts longer than typical quick neural misfires -- maybe around a minute. It is too infrequent for me to try to pin down what is going on. - Jarred Younger
Very interesting. Could this have any connection to the sensory hypersensitivity that can happen with me/cfs? Maybe another topic for your to-do list? 😊
Conditions like ME/CFS and FM seem to involve "wind-up" in the spinal cord and brain where the sensory information is exaggerated. There is also a region in the anterior cingulate cortex (and insula) where stimuli are determined to be noxious. There is some evidence that the threshold for noxiousness in these regions is set too low, causing more things to be painful, uncomfortable, or sickening. - Jarred Younger
My psychiatrist gave me Trileptal, an anti seizure med, to dial back the ringing in my head, ( not ears), and the hypersensitivity to touch and sound. He can’t say why it works, but I am so grateful he knew that it would. It also dials back the all over fussiness that overwhelms my body and makes me crankie. Everything seems like too much when I am in this transient state. Trileptal keeps me from needing to be in a tub in the dark, but that seems to help too. I use 2 cups of epsom salt and 2 of baking soda.
Also, it has been proven that Gulf War Veterans have neuroinflammation. Is it possible that my loss of sense of smell is from the inflammation in my brain?
Unsure if I have C19 or another viral infection. Maybe nothing at all. But approx 4 yrs ago I developed loss of smell. A couple of things have helped. Something happened, ended up with severely raised liver enzymes, chronic gastritis, low platelets and low neurtophils, loss of smell, HI/MCAS and a load of other symptoms/issues. Now have chronic LPR and everything else but liver enzymes have resolved. Still no sense of smell. The only thing that worked? A SGB. It lasted for a few hours and then it stopped working. Fasting the only other thing that will allow my sense of smell to return. I've tried 24 - 48hr fasting and it's great, until I eat and I lose my sense of smell again. I'm miserable 4 years on and no relief. Thanks kindly for making this video, appreciate all that you do.
I'm not sure what could be tying this all together. The SGB result is interesting -- it could be either a central anti-inflammatory effect or a parasympathetic effect. Good on your docs for trying it - that is beyond the normal indications for SGB. - Jarred Younger
@@youngerlab Agreed, it's a quandary! If I had the money I'd try it again but only to one side - the change seemed to occur when I had the 2nd side done. Nope, Drs didn't. In the UK, there's nil support here for most conditions. It was all off my own back. I decided it would be worth it to take a punt. To my mind, I think it was worth it because there were residual benefits just not to regaining a sense of smell. It didn't improve ME either - which is unfortunate. Thanks for all you do!
I just got sick with covid 9 days ago and yesterday lost my sense of smell and taste. So unfortunately this happened with a new variant which by the way has been very very challenging to overcome.
Thank you for telling me. I will make sure to remember people are still having this symptom. One thing to remember is that a loss of smell is pretty common during the acute phase of many viral infections. So, chances are that this one resolves fairly quickly - I hope that is the case! - Jarred Younger
Any suggestions for "cheap" testing we could use to get objective data to show what is going on in the brain? Anosmia is one of the easier symptoms for nicotine patches to help with. Some people see benefits in 24hrs and most others within a week. The other LongCovid symptoms are more stubborn and take weeks or months for responders. Your video has given me some ideas for my research since the benefits for anosmia are usually so fast and the subjective experience is also very stark for participants. The problem comes when people have not had the sense of smell for years. They expect it to be "normal" right away, but the brain actually needs to rewire and in some cases relearn smells.
We haven't been able to come up with a valid, simple method for quantifying or even detecting brain inflammation. Everything available now is PET or advanced MRI. I haven't found a good peripheral blood proxy yet. - Jarred Younger
@@youngerlab Thanks. That will save me time researching. Since nicotine collects in the lower-half of the brain (the gut ; -) microbiome tests like those done by Biomesight may show a shift in something that correlates with neuroinflammation.
Thank so much for this explanation. Is there any way it could be related to what I have experienced, though likely different triggers, with extreme opening of my nasal passages during what I believe was my very early exposure to covid at the end of January, 2020? I used to use nasal strips to sleep well, no longe needed! Further, I experienced very damaged vocal cords and haven't been able to speak properly since March of that year. Of course I also have level 2(?) ME/CFS/long covid, with so many other issues. But these two I have not had any doctors be able to explain. I would LOVE any insights you might have! As always, thank you for what you are doing!
I don't have any great ideas. I haven't worked with structures in the body like the vocal cords. I would guess it is the nervous system rather than damage to the cords directly. If I had that problem, I would probably explore vagus nerve stimulation or some other nervous modulation - with an expert. I don't know any scientists or clinicians in that field, but they should be scattered around. Maybe an ENT could make a referral. I hope it gets better! - Jarred Younger
Tnx for your comment. My voice comes and goes many times daily, worsening when I am tired, but can just as suddenly return. Not just cords. Forming words, like slurring and stammering, and getting words from my mind to my mouth is severely slowed. ENT said that I had just learned to talk from my throat, whatever that means. It has to be flaring inflammation to be so transient.
@@youngerlab Sorry, JUST seeing this now! (didn't see prior notification) Thank you for the thoughts! At 58, my ENT said my cords looked like an 80 year old's, so definitely damage. In the past month, just starting to gain a little more normalcy back, maybe up to 50%. But I'll explore your vagus suggestion as well - thanks so much!!
@@sacredrain7757 Wow, so many weird angles on this thing! That WOULD suck. I'm in year 5 (was Jan., '20) and all my experimenting has led me to some improvement through, I believe, LDN, and removing glucose (carbs, etc.) from my diet gleaned from a very early Younger study about a glucose shunt problem in the mitochondria. My energy has been much better since. But that could just be me. Good luck!
Yeah I get relapses of this every time I get sick and every time the persistent lack or smell gets worse. It's like the permanent degredation increases. That also goes for the erectile dysfunction I got that started back in 2021. I also got a lot of bulging discs and all symptoms came at the same time. Histamin intolerance, high or fluctuating blood pressure, innaproperiate sinus tachycardia, damaged blood vessles/spider veins over the nose. I see halos around light sources, "start bursts", increased tinnitus and visual snow, decreased night vision. A lack of sweating that have improved some though. The erectile dysfunction is by far the worst. I suspected I got cauda equina syndrome back in 2021. But my GP thought it was anxiety only after the first MRI didn't reveal anything. I think it was due to swelling of the nerves and that they missed it because they didn't use a contrast dye. I don't get any help from the doctors either. I had ME/CFS prior to covid but never had experienced ED of this kind. I feel that it's physical only. My night time erections is really weak as well. So weak that the machine used to measure nightly erections couldn't pick up on it. The doctor believed it was due to the fact I didn't sleep deep enough and never ordered another test for it. Now that they eventually let me have another MRI and saw all the bulging discs I still don't get any help. And even though I tell them I can feel that the nerves in the back/spine are involved in the cause of the ED, I've been told that those affected discs shouldn't be able to do that. But I can f*ckin sense it. If I tilt my spine in a certain position I can even envoke a small erection. It's not good enough for sex but there are still SOME connection "down there". Buut they just refuse to help me. "Go and see a physiotherapist". I probably needed surger 3-4 years ago. I'm thinking of taking my own life due to all of this. Mostly due to the fact how I've been treated by doctors when seeking medical attention for soemthing that was, and still is an emergency to me. Every fucking day is an medical emergency that is treated with medical neglect only. The lack of sense of smell is just the tip of the iceberg. Also my voice changed, I suffered memory loss twice since, also confusion and personality change.
I’m sorry you are going through this. I can relate to some of it. Don’t take your life. I just watched your absolutely awesome cover of Steve Stevens’ “Top Gun” solo. He would be proud of that. Keep playing. I played for years, but gave up playing because of depression, anxiety, and multiple health issues. Keep playing, you’re good.
Hear u with my ❤️.. forget Western med w Drs trained 25 years ago.. follow Dr Paul Anderson, Seattle, cancer/chronic illness daily podcasts, free, sells nothing, .. also dr Patterson, , see flccc protocols, Dr David Haider, weekly podcasts free, can ask hime questions, am 3 years in, aging, mold injury, spinal stenosis, long Lyme., much written on ed.. praying for all of us.. find a top chiropractor who can help w myo facial release🙏❤️
I am really sorry you are going through all this. The relapsing aspect makes sense because "primed" microglia are ready to re-active with very little stimulus. It sounds like there is a core issue driving many different problems. You are probably tired with the medical system, but a good doctor for very complex issues is the functional medicine docs. They specializing in solving complex system-wide problems. Also, the genetic screening approach my colleague is developing may be helpful in identifying core (e.g., mitochondrial, metabolomic) issues. It isn't ready for prime-time yet, but we are working to move it along quickly. - Jarred Younger
Inflamed brain absolutely, that's what gives u "fig" trouble processing, migraines, etc.. gut health connects to brain health, magnesium glcinate + l threinate only to that cross blood brain barrier.. calms+ helps sleep❤
Outstanding! Tu❤was pre med, 3 yrs in lonhc, long lyme, mold injury, researched this 2years u just summed up clearly + concisely what took.me hrs to discover..im celiac w gut dysbiosis, see 11 drs whi treat 11 body parts, none understand what im talking about😡my ebt saud"you know more about it than i do😲..u are a breath of fresh air in a world of darkness..tu fir all u are + do..u may wush ti add gut/brain connect to your list..my pcp did not kno "feel good" (brain fog nis made in the gut .) 😥..dr bruce oatterson doing hreat work, as id dr putring, belssings❤️❤️🙏
Consider seeing a Functional MD or a really good Naturopath, they look at the body as a whole functioning unit and are better at testing and identifying root causes. Allopathic medicine is a mess currently with all of that hyper-specialization.
Do you think that the kind of persistent neuroinflammation in the olfactory bulb could also be happening in other parts of the brain and causing fatigue/pain/other Long Covid symptoms?
Hi Jarred I lost my smell and had sepsis in my lymph nodes and everything smelled like something opened my mouth and sprayed the old Lysol down my throat and I could not handle any smells including food. I lost 50 lbs in 5 weeks. Anyways I have permanent tympanic pressure from my Eustaction tubes sorry bilingual ( trompa de Eustaquio ) and my severe ear pressure has never resolved itself. I do completely understand you and appreciate your work with CFS/ ME also and even though I have severe PSA( was forced to take methotrexate before Humira almost killed me) anyways…. the B1, Curcumin and Magnesium glycinate. I believe that it is helping. I also have had Covid 3 times. Since my PSA forces me to be on a narcotic unfortunately I could not take Naloxone. But here is the news, I have been able to reduce the pain medicine by half and we are taking about Ms, now I can’t do it every day but I depend more on the Humira. This was also on top of having an excruciating surgery, torn biceps and it was grafted into another spot on my humerus and my deltoid muscle plus a severe frayed tendon. I am here to say that what you do does matter and I thank you. At least getting help with the fibromyalgia/Cf and CRPS has finally kicked in and I take safe good amounts of these things, all I can do is send you a huge virtual hug. 🎉😊
Thanks for sharing. We will keep chipping away until we get it all figured out. One thing to keep an eye on is the genetic studies I hope we will have published later this year. One thing it might do is find a central cause to all the symptoms in complex cases like yours. The paper is in review now, so I hope to talk about it soon. - Jarred Younger
@@youngerlabthank you for this answer Dr. I am a complex case too, and I have just given up due to what I call “ ruined human syndrome.” Too much has happened to my body, mind and spirit. 35 years of mind spinning pain and fatigue has caused me to miss out on the supports one lives a life from like family, work, play, service, church. If I could remove the pain and fatigue only, I would pop up like a daisy and pursue life, liberty, and happiness. I navigate symptoms and do my therapy and find little gratitudes, but the idea that an answer could come in my lifetime is good medicine by itself. Thank you, and your team , for all you do to support and give hope to people in a dehumanizing condition. I am awestruck by the human heights it takes to choose dedicate your work life to the bag of worms that defines this medical mystery. “Stay curios, my friend.”
Hi Dr. Younger. I contracted COVID on November 6, 2024. I’m not sure the exact date of smell and taste loss/distortion but I guess I noticed it November9/10 and really noticed it November 12 at a luncheon. I felt great, fully recovered but couldn’t taste or smell anything. I had used Flonase for a few days but then got scared that it might actually be hurting and not helping. I had a great day yesterday (November 21), by night I could smell and taste pretty good but then I woke up today and it’s as bad as it’s been since I first noticed it. Why is that? For me it’s not total loss but today it’s really bad. Any ideas on treatments? I’m hoping with it only being day 12-13 or so it resolves soon.
Yep, though the conventional anti-inflammatories generally have a hard time reaching the brain at appreciable levels. So I don't expect most over-the-counter or even prescription anti-inflammatories to work (but they would have to be tested to be sure). - Jarred Younger
I have long Covid since July 2020. My smell came back about 80% (some things like citrus still smell strange and distorted). However, I keep getting sick with long lasting flus, not sure if it’s Covid or not. But I got sick last week and now I can only smell about 20%. It’s incredibly frustrating to improve and then get knocked back again. I was wondering if the newest Covid variants circulating in the Western US are causing anosmia again.
It is more likely that your microglia in the olfactory system are "primed", which means they are now overly sensitive to infections. So, relatively small colds and flu events may reactivate the microglia and cause anosmia again. I haven't seen that study specifically run, but it fits with how we know microglia act when they have encountered a significant infection -- they can be sensitized for a while afterward. - Jarred Younger
I'm sorry you have that issue. I don't know much about causes for anosmia that are more chronic or life-long. If you haven't had it done already, the first step would be a full workup by an ENT physician who may be able to isolate the nature of the problem. - Jarred Younger
That is the working hypothesis. Depending on what parts of the olfactory system is hit, it could manifest as anosmia or parosmia. We suspect the treatment would be the same (thought it is an open scientific question). - Jarred Younger
I have a question. The most agreed-upon theory of PEM is mitochondrial dysfunction. What caused you to buy so much into microglia priming theory, and do you think they co-exist in PEM? If so, what is their interrelation, which is first, and which affects which? Thanks
Neuroinflammation and research are his specialties, so it makes sense that he is looking in the brain for what is not already known, especially since there is not treatment for mitochondrial dysfunction.
Low dose Naltrexone has greatly helped my body pains from me/CFS. But I guess it's not working on my loss of smell. It's been years since I had COVID but my smell is only back 25% I'm guessing.
Thanks for the info, since there hasn't been a study specifically on LDN for anosmia. I wonder if your olfactory system would still show the neuroinflammation on the scan. - Jarred Younger
@@youngerlab good question. The thing I know for sure is that when I miss a dose, the pain is very present. So in my experience, LDN must not be affecting the inflammation itself but just blocking the pain signals to my brain?
Hello! Here is a link to the open-access scientific paper I mention in this talk: www.nature.com/articles/s41598-024-57561-6
Super! Well explained, love the documentation handy, you were right. You were right!!
Imma scientist, I write the Darwin Awards, I love your geeky look at this area of the brain that I was not yet acquainted with
Superbly done and great study. Amazing and Naloxone is a very easy med to get. I hope that many can get help with this. Thx
THANK YOU for this!!! I'm here in Vestavia, 90 years old, never tested for Covid, believe that I probably had it last year and stayed home 5 days.
I have lost my sense of smell, regaining a little to notice perfume but flavors in cooking are not back. This information in invaluable.
I will follow your blog for further information. You are a gift to your fellow humans!
This is really fascinating! Diagrams helpful too. Thank you Jarred 😊
Also, in a lot of the literature, the first wave folks with very mild symptoms (March 2020) keep coming up as most affected. For many, the smell returned negligibly or partially, and fluctuates somewhat.
I got it in July of 2020 and lost my smell entirely. Took a long time, eventually it came back about 80% but it definitely fluctuates a lot. I got sick again recently and my smell is back down to 20 or 30%. It’s really frustrating.
It is *possible* that is because the microglia launched an aggressive response before the virus spread beyond the olfactory cortex. The anosmia may be more noticeable when everything else is relatively mild. I would have to read more about it. Thanks! - Jarred Younger
Thank you Dr Younger, it is nice to have explanations.
I literally think I just lost (hopefully only temporarily) my loss of smell yesterday after a few days of flu-like symptoms and have been going through a range of emotions from depression to apprehension. I have been frenetically searching for any information about this, and 100% YOU ABSOLUTELY GAVE THE BEST EXPLANATION and have somewhat calmed me. THANK YOU AND I HAVE LIKED AND SUBSCRIBED!!!!!!!!
Thank you. A ray of hope. Year 5. All Drs here are gaslighting on this, including ENT. Also, it seems Anosmia / Dysguesia presents with other neuro / cognitive issues like brain fog for a lot of people.
I have impaired smell since 2020 which recently got worse with a new flu. And yes, I do also deal with severe brain fog and migraines. I don’t even bother with regular Drs, they seem like the last to know just about everything. I really appreciate the intelligent ones like Dr Younger though.
I definitely know people from the early waves who still don't have their sense of smell back, so I don't think we should ignore it even though there aren't as many new cases these days. - Jarred Younger
@@ashleylala4293it is just common sense that researchers know before practicing docs. No one has the answers yet, so not knowing is not a deficiency. You are right to look for help beyond what doctors can do until that fine day when docs can help.
Thank you for another particularly good explanation. Keep up the good work.
Too tired to watch but commenting to support your channel
@@goldilockz6517 Ironic remark. Lately I’ve been too tired to even want to go gor a walk.
Hello! I hope you feel at least a little bit better. Thank you for supporting my lab! - Jarred Younger
I had a reduced sense of smell and still do when I came back from the Gulf War. I also developed rhinitis.
It’s was years ago that I read it so the details are foggy for me. But I remember a congressman or senator (or possibly a group of them) writing an open letter about gulf war syndrome possibly being caused by a biowarfare agent called mycoplasma. I haven’t heard any updates since then but I’m wondering if that pathogen is associated with anosmia. Might be worth researching a bit. I hope yours improves. Its a really annoying symptom I deal with as well.
Even if mycoplasma was an exposure during the Gulf War it would be difficult to prove it causes loss of smell. Since neuroinflammation is recognized as a symptom associated with Gulf War exposures, I think I would have more luck going this route connecting loss of smell to Gulf War participation. I will still look up mycoplasma.
Love to learn! 🧠 Thank you, Dr. Younger. 😊
Fascinating Jarred..
Thank you!
I now have a full understanding of what exactly happened to me after my covid infection in mid 2022.
The loss of smell & the associated, inevitable loss of taste was very upsetting and lasted for a long time..still not probably back 100%.
I hope it recovers completely. I know people who had it in early 2020 and are now around 90% better. We haven't seen signs of any neural damage, so it should be possible to get to 100% with time (unless the immune system needs an additional push to calm down). - Jarred Younger
I came to the same conclusion around the same time and boy were people mad at me when I called it brain damage. The warning sign of that symptom is why I put an n95 on and never took it off. Keep up the good work 👍
Please be careful. There are things that the body exhales because it is trying to eliminate them. The N95 is forcing it to rebreathe those exhalations. Also, I got a lot more sinus problems and infections from wearing those masks back in the day.
A better option, imho is a nasal blocking spray such as CofixRX. Dr Been has good videos about it on his channel.
Thanks! Fortunately, it looks like the neurons are intact, so the sense of smell should return once the microglia have calmed down, though that may take a long time for some people. - Jarred Younger
Thanks so much for covering this! I haven’t watched yet, but will soon. I was very sick last Christmas and lost my sense of smell. I took two Covid tests at the time, and they were negative. There are a few things that I can taste, that taste/smell good (mostly sweets), but almost everything I can smell is a weird smell that I’ve never smelled before this happened. Every now and then I will randomly notice a “new” fleeting smell that no one else in the room can smell. It’s weird. I also suddenly have flashbacks of the memory of certain smells/tastes from the past.
Yes that is parosmia and is a common variant of the outright anosmia. The olfactory system is incredibly complex connecting thousands of chemicals to specific neural signals. It does't take too much disturbance to cause drastic changes in smell. - Jarred Younger
I was put on low dose Naltrexone. After the fourth dose my lymph nodes swelled up and I developed discomfort in my liver region. Over the years, probably from the Gulf War, my body has become hypersensitive and intolerant to numerous exposures including medications.
Makes sense.. u already had toxins from fire pits,, etc, so easier for virus to get in❤
It might be worth going to see a Functional MD or good Naturopath if you can, they are good at checking toxin levels and helping to assist the body to eliminate them. I used to live on land that was an old military base and I got very sick from the chemicals there. Specifically bromopropane and perchlorate. It’s important to go to the right kind of Drs who know how to run those test. Standard allopathic MDs are not well informed when it comes to environmental exposures and toxins.
I'm sorry that happened! It isn't a typical response to LDN and I'm not sure if the LDN caused the new symptoms. But if I stopped LDN and then the symptoms came back when I tried LDN again, I would stop using it completely. - Jarred Younger
Another fascinating video - thank you! I believe many MECFS patients, including myself had frequent sinus infections for years before getting MECFS. We all question whether the frequent antibiotics contributed to Coming down with this long-term illness. But, I’ve also always been curious about the sinus/ brain barrier And whether somehow infections were crossing into the brain. I’ve never thankfully struggled with long term loss of smell. Do infections travel deeper into the brain past the smell processing area?
Yes, the virus has the ability to migrate beyond the olfactory system if it isn't halted by the microglia. - Jarred Younger
Fascinating! I've had the reverse experience: during viral reactivation I've had olfactory hallucinations!
This fascinates me. Hubby is constantly smelling things that aren't there. He tests positive for EBV even now, and I wonder if that's one that crosses this barrier that way.
Yes..some smell cigarette smoke years later ❤@@darthmeowry
I have actually had that infrequently in the past couple of years. It is so strong that I look around to see who is playing a trick on me. I don't know what is going on with that. It lasts longer than typical quick neural misfires -- maybe around a minute. It is too infrequent for me to try to pin down what is going on. - Jarred Younger
Very interesting. Could this have any connection to the sensory hypersensitivity that can happen with me/cfs? Maybe another topic for your to-do list? 😊
I think that is hyper sensible nervous system.
Conditions like ME/CFS and FM seem to involve "wind-up" in the spinal cord and brain where the sensory information is exaggerated. There is also a region in the anterior cingulate cortex (and insula) where stimuli are determined to be noxious. There is some evidence that the threshold for noxiousness in these regions is set too low, causing more things to be painful, uncomfortable, or sickening. - Jarred Younger
My psychiatrist gave me Trileptal, an anti seizure med, to dial back the ringing in my head, ( not ears), and the hypersensitivity to touch and sound. He can’t say why it works, but I am so grateful he knew that it would. It also dials back the all over fussiness that overwhelms my body and makes me crankie. Everything seems like too much when I am in this transient state. Trileptal keeps me from needing to be in a tub in the dark, but that seems to help too. I use 2 cups of epsom salt and 2 of baking soda.
Also, it has been proven that Gulf War Veterans have neuroinflammation. Is it possible that my loss of sense of smell is from the inflammation in my brain?
Yes, we have a GWI neuroinflammation paper going out for review next month. I will be talking about it soon! - Jarred Younger
@youngerlab Thank you. Dr. Younger, you and other researchers give this Gulf War Veteran hope.
Unsure if I have C19 or another viral infection. Maybe nothing at all. But approx 4 yrs ago I developed loss of smell. A couple of things have helped.
Something happened, ended up with severely raised liver enzymes, chronic gastritis, low platelets and low neurtophils, loss of smell, HI/MCAS and a load of other symptoms/issues. Now have chronic LPR and everything else but liver enzymes have resolved. Still no sense of smell.
The only thing that worked? A SGB. It lasted for a few hours and then it stopped working. Fasting the only other thing that will allow my sense of smell to return. I've tried 24 - 48hr fasting and it's great, until I eat and I lose my sense of smell again.
I'm miserable 4 years on and no relief.
Thanks kindly for making this video, appreciate all that you do.
I'm not sure what could be tying this all together. The SGB result is interesting -- it could be either a central anti-inflammatory effect or a parasympathetic effect. Good on your docs for trying it - that is beyond the normal indications for SGB. - Jarred Younger
@@youngerlab Agreed, it's a quandary! If I had the money I'd try it again but only to one side - the change seemed to occur when I had the 2nd side done.
Nope, Drs didn't. In the UK, there's nil support here for most conditions. It was all off my own back. I decided it would be worth it to take a punt. To my mind, I think it was worth it because there were residual benefits just not to regaining a sense of smell. It didn't improve ME either - which is unfortunate.
Thanks for all you do!
I just got sick with covid 9 days ago and yesterday lost my sense of smell and taste. So unfortunately this happened with a new variant which by the way has been very very challenging to overcome.
Thank you for telling me. I will make sure to remember people are still having this symptom. One thing to remember is that a loss of smell is pretty common during the acute phase of many viral infections. So, chances are that this one resolves fairly quickly - I hope that is the case! - Jarred Younger
I lost my sense of smell before I had Covid. I also have Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, since the 1980's.
Thanks again for the great videos! Starting 1:50 what's the software that you use for these diagrams?
This is the web-based tool. I have a paid version, but some things are available for free: www.imaios.com/en/e-anatomy - Jarred Younger
Any suggestions for "cheap" testing we could use to get objective data to show what is going on in the brain? Anosmia is one of the easier symptoms for nicotine patches to help with. Some people see benefits in 24hrs and most others within a week. The other LongCovid symptoms are more stubborn and take weeks or months for responders.
Your video has given me some ideas for my research since the benefits for anosmia are usually so fast and the subjective experience is also very stark for participants.
The problem comes when people have not had the sense of smell for years. They expect it to be "normal" right away, but the brain actually needs to rewire and in some cases relearn smells.
Wow I never heard of the nicotine patches for treating anosmia, I gotta look into that. Thanks for sharing.
We haven't been able to come up with a valid, simple method for quantifying or even detecting brain inflammation. Everything available now is PET or advanced MRI. I haven't found a good peripheral blood proxy yet. - Jarred Younger
@@youngerlab Thanks. That will save me time researching.
Since nicotine collects in the lower-half of the brain (the gut ; -) microbiome tests like those done by Biomesight may show a shift in something that correlates with neuroinflammation.
Thank so much for this explanation. Is there any way it could be related to what I have experienced, though likely different triggers, with extreme opening of my nasal passages during what I believe was my very early exposure to covid at the end of January, 2020? I used to use nasal strips to sleep well, no longe needed! Further, I experienced very damaged vocal cords and haven't been able to speak properly since March of that year. Of course I also have level 2(?) ME/CFS/long covid, with so many other issues. But these two I have not had any doctors be able to explain. I would LOVE any insights you might have! As always, thank you for what you are doing!
I don't have any great ideas. I haven't worked with structures in the body like the vocal cords. I would guess it is the nervous system rather than damage to the cords directly. If I had that problem, I would probably explore vagus nerve stimulation or some other nervous modulation - with an expert. I don't know any scientists or clinicians in that field, but they should be scattered around. Maybe an ENT could make a referral. I hope it gets better! - Jarred Younger
Tnx for your comment. My voice comes and goes many times daily, worsening when I am tired, but can just as suddenly return. Not just cords. Forming words, like slurring and stammering, and getting words from my mind to my mouth is severely slowed. ENT said that I had just learned to talk from my throat, whatever that means. It has to be flaring inflammation to be so transient.
@@youngerlab Sorry, JUST seeing this now! (didn't see prior notification) Thank you for the thoughts! At 58, my ENT said my cords looked like an 80 year old's, so definitely damage. In the past month, just starting to gain a little more normalcy back, maybe up to 50%. But I'll explore your vagus suggestion as well - thanks so much!!
@@sacredrain7757 Wow, so many weird angles on this thing! That WOULD suck. I'm in year 5 (was Jan., '20) and all my experimenting has led me to some improvement through, I believe, LDN, and removing glucose (carbs, etc.) from my diet gleaned from a very early Younger study about a glucose shunt problem in the mitochondria. My energy has been much better since. But that could just be me. Good luck!
Yeah I get relapses of this every time I get sick and every time the persistent lack or smell gets worse. It's like the permanent degredation increases. That also goes for the erectile dysfunction I got that started back in 2021.
I also got a lot of bulging discs and all symptoms came at the same time. Histamin intolerance, high or fluctuating blood pressure, innaproperiate sinus tachycardia, damaged blood vessles/spider veins over the nose. I see halos around light sources, "start bursts", increased tinnitus and visual snow, decreased night vision. A lack of sweating that have improved some though.
The erectile dysfunction is by far the worst. I suspected I got cauda equina syndrome back in 2021. But my GP thought it was anxiety only after the first MRI didn't reveal anything. I think it was due to swelling of the nerves and that they missed it because they didn't use a contrast dye.
I don't get any help from the doctors either. I had ME/CFS prior to covid but never had experienced ED of this kind. I feel that it's physical only. My night time erections is really weak as well. So weak that the machine used to measure nightly erections couldn't pick up on it. The doctor believed it was due to the fact I didn't sleep deep enough and never ordered another test for it.
Now that they eventually let me have another MRI and saw all the bulging discs I still don't get any help.
And even though I tell them I can feel that the nerves in the back/spine are involved in the cause of the ED, I've been told that those affected discs shouldn't be able to do that. But I can f*ckin sense it. If I tilt my spine in a certain position I can even envoke a small erection. It's not good enough for sex but there are still SOME connection "down there". Buut they just refuse to help me.
"Go and see a physiotherapist". I probably needed surger 3-4 years ago.
I'm thinking of taking my own life due to all of this. Mostly due to the fact how I've been treated by doctors when seeking medical attention for soemthing that was, and still is an emergency to me.
Every fucking day is an medical emergency that is treated with medical neglect only.
The lack of sense of smell is just the tip of the iceberg.
Also my voice changed, I suffered memory loss twice since, also confusion and personality change.
I’m sorry you are going through this. I can relate to some of it. Don’t take your life. I just watched your absolutely awesome cover of Steve Stevens’ “Top Gun” solo. He would be proud of that. Keep playing. I played for years, but gave up playing because of depression, anxiety, and multiple health issues. Keep playing, you’re good.
Hear u with my ❤️.. forget Western med w Drs trained 25 years ago.. follow Dr Paul Anderson, Seattle, cancer/chronic illness daily podcasts, free, sells nothing, .. also dr Patterson, , see flccc protocols, Dr David Haider, weekly podcasts free, can ask hime questions, am 3 years in, aging, mold injury, spinal stenosis, long Lyme., much written on ed.. praying for all of us.. find a top chiropractor who can help w myo facial release🙏❤️
I am really sorry you are going through all this. The relapsing aspect makes sense because "primed" microglia are ready to re-active with very little stimulus. It sounds like there is a core issue driving many different problems. You are probably tired with the medical system, but a good doctor for very complex issues is the functional medicine docs. They specializing in solving complex system-wide problems. Also, the genetic screening approach my colleague is developing may be helpful in identifying core (e.g., mitochondrial, metabolomic) issues. It isn't ready for prime-time yet, but we are working to move it along quickly. - Jarred Younger
Thank you for this, very interesting and also alarming at the same time. I had no idea that C19 got into my brain! Yikes!
Inflamed brain absolutely, that's what gives u "fig" trouble processing, migraines, etc.. gut health connects to brain health, magnesium glcinate + l threinate only to that cross blood brain barrier.. calms+ helps sleep❤
Outstanding! Tu❤was pre med, 3 yrs in lonhc, long lyme, mold injury, researched this 2years u just summed up clearly + concisely what took.me hrs to discover..im celiac w gut dysbiosis, see 11 drs whi treat 11 body parts, none understand what im talking about😡my ebt saud"you know more about it than i do😲..u are a breath of fresh air in a world of darkness..tu fir all u are + do..u may wush ti add gut/brain connect to your list..my pcp did not kno "feel good" (brain fog nis made in the gut
.) 😥..dr bruce oatterson doing hreat work, as id dr putring, belssings❤️❤️🙏
Consider seeing a Functional MD or a really good Naturopath, they look at the body as a whole functioning unit and are better at testing and identifying root causes. Allopathic medicine is a mess currently with all of that hyper-specialization.
Thank you - we'll keep working on it! - Jarred Younger
Forgot to add that I use a steroid nasal spray and although there's some relief it's not long lasting and very small.
Do you think that the kind of persistent neuroinflammation in the olfactory bulb could also be happening in other parts of the brain and causing fatigue/pain/other Long Covid symptoms?
Exactly. The virus can enter the neuron and travel along to axon to reach other brain regions. - Jarred Younger
Hi Jarred I lost my smell and had sepsis in my lymph nodes and everything smelled like something opened my mouth and sprayed the old Lysol down my throat and I could not handle any smells including food. I lost 50 lbs in 5 weeks. Anyways I have permanent tympanic pressure from my Eustaction tubes sorry bilingual ( trompa de Eustaquio ) and my severe ear pressure has never resolved itself. I do completely understand you and appreciate your work with CFS/ ME also and even though I have severe PSA( was forced to take methotrexate before Humira almost killed me) anyways…. the B1, Curcumin and Magnesium glycinate. I believe that it is helping. I also have had Covid 3 times. Since my PSA forces me to be on a narcotic unfortunately I could not take Naloxone. But here is the news, I have been able to reduce the pain medicine by half and we are taking about Ms, now I can’t do it every day but I depend more on the Humira. This was also on top of having an excruciating surgery, torn biceps and it was grafted into another spot on my humerus and my deltoid muscle plus a severe frayed tendon. I am here to say that what you do does matter and I thank you. At least getting help with the fibromyalgia/Cf and CRPS has finally kicked in and I take safe good amounts of these things, all I can do is send you a huge virtual hug. 🎉😊
Thanks for sharing. We will keep chipping away until we get it all figured out. One thing to keep an eye on is the genetic studies I hope we will have published later this year. One thing it might do is find a central cause to all the symptoms in complex cases like yours. The paper is in review now, so I hope to talk about it soon. - Jarred Younger
@@youngerlabthank you for this answer Dr. I am a complex case too, and I have just given up due to what I call “ ruined human syndrome.” Too much has happened to my body, mind and spirit. 35 years of mind spinning pain and fatigue has caused me to miss out on the supports one lives a life from like family, work, play, service, church. If I could remove the pain and fatigue only, I would pop up like a daisy and pursue life, liberty, and happiness. I navigate symptoms and do my therapy and find little gratitudes, but the idea that an answer could come in my lifetime is good medicine by itself. Thank you, and your team , for all you do to support and give hope to people in a dehumanizing condition. I am awestruck by the human heights it takes to choose dedicate your work life to the bag of worms that defines this medical mystery. “Stay curios, my friend.”
Hi Dr. Younger. I contracted COVID on November 6, 2024. I’m not sure the exact date of smell and taste loss/distortion but I guess I noticed it November9/10 and really noticed it November 12 at a luncheon. I felt great, fully recovered but couldn’t taste or smell anything. I had used Flonase for a few days but then got scared that it might actually be hurting and not helping.
I had a great day yesterday (November 21), by night I could smell and taste pretty good but then I woke up today and it’s as bad as it’s been since I first noticed it. Why is that? For me it’s not total loss but today it’s really bad. Any ideas on treatments? I’m hoping with it only being day 12-13 or so it resolves soon.
Do anti inflammatory meds help microglia recover?
Never mind, you answered my question and more. Thank you.
Yep, though the conventional anti-inflammatories generally have a hard time reaching the brain at appreciable levels. So I don't expect most over-the-counter or even prescription anti-inflammatories to work (but they would have to be tested to be sure). - Jarred Younger
I have long Covid since July 2020. My smell came back about 80% (some things like citrus still smell strange and distorted). However, I keep getting sick with long lasting flus, not sure if it’s Covid or not. But I got sick last week and now I can only smell about 20%. It’s incredibly frustrating to improve and then get knocked back again.
I was wondering if the newest Covid variants circulating in the Western US are causing anosmia again.
It is more likely that your microglia in the olfactory system are "primed", which means they are now overly sensitive to infections. So, relatively small colds and flu events may reactivate the microglia and cause anosmia again. I haven't seen that study specifically run, but it fits with how we know microglia act when they have encountered a significant infection -- they can be sensitized for a while afterward. - Jarred Younger
@@youngerlabyep
I never could smell , anosmia what are my options
I'm sorry you have that issue. I don't know much about causes for anosmia that are more chronic or life-long. If you haven't had it done already, the first step would be a full workup by an ENT physician who may be able to isolate the nature of the problem. - Jarred Younger
Is this also the cause for people dealing with parosmia?
That is the working hypothesis. Depending on what parts of the olfactory system is hit, it could manifest as anosmia or parosmia. We suspect the treatment would be the same (thought it is an open scientific question). - Jarred Younger
I had covid in 21', I've had flowery phantom smells since.
I have a question. The most agreed-upon theory of PEM is mitochondrial dysfunction. What caused you to buy so much into microglia priming theory, and do you think they co-exist in PEM? If so, what is their interrelation, which is first, and which affects which? Thanks
Neuroinflammation and research are his specialties, so it makes sense that he is looking in the brain for what is not already known, especially since there is not treatment for mitochondrial dysfunction.
Low dose Naltrexone has greatly helped my body pains from me/CFS. But I guess it's not working on my loss of smell. It's been years since I had COVID but my smell is only back 25% I'm guessing.
What pains you have with ME/CFS?
@@angelbryan98 fibromyalgia pain, stiff and sore when I move my body, etc, extreme fatigue.
Thanks for the info, since there hasn't been a study specifically on LDN for anosmia. I wonder if your olfactory system would still show the neuroinflammation on the scan. - Jarred Younger
@@youngerlab good question. The thing I know for sure is that when I miss a dose, the pain is very present. So in my experience, LDN must not be affecting the inflammation itself but just blocking the pain signals to my brain?
I got the newer virus I guess. No loss of taste or smell when I had it so I didn’t know
Yep that would exactly as expected for an exposure from the last couple years. I'm glad it wasn't something you had to deal with! - Jarred Younger