Biology/No taste
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Question
My friend can't eat as food does not taste good to him. Is there any reason for this? He throws out more than he eats. His taste is really off. Thanks
Hi Lucy: Thanks for your question
I believe your friend suffers from a condition called anosmia. This is the loss of the ability to smell.
Taste is a sensation that is limited to salty, bitter, sweet and sour and is detected by the tongue. So our sense of taste is actually a sense of smell.
It can be caused by a number of different conditions, among them:
Upper respiratory tract infection (e.g., sinusitis or the common cold)
Nasal polyps
Smoking
Head trauma, damage to the ethmoid bone
Tumors of the frontal lobe
Parkinson's Disease
Alzheimer's Disease
Old age
Intranasal drug use
For more information, you can go to
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anosmia
Hope this helps, write back if you have more questions.
FM Rollwagen, PhD
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Answers by Expert:
Florence M Rollwagen
Expertise
I can answer questions in biology, microbiology and immunology on the undergraduate or graduate level. I can also address medical and health concerns regarding alternative medicine, autoimmune diseases (lupus, MS) liver disease and intestinal problems.
Experience
I have over 20 years experience in research and teaching at the medical/graduate level, and 5 years teaching college biology and microbiology. My expertise is in microbiology and immunology, specifically the biology of cytokines and soluble immune response modifiers. I also carried out original research in blood substitutes and shock/trauma.
Organizations
American Association of Immunologists (AAI)
American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)
Publications
Journal of Experimental Medicine, Journal of Immunology, Cytokine, Shock, Experimental Hematology
Education/Credentials
BS biology 1966
MS biology 1968
PhD immunology 1979
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