People with lupus often have poor sense of smell

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - New research indicates that the sense of smell is reduced in people with systemic lupus erythematosus, or SLE, and the degree of the deficit correlates with the severity of lupus.

Lupus is an autoimmune disorder in which the immune system mistakenly attacks normal tissue. The condition can manifest as a skin rash or arthritis and may lead to damage to the kidneys, heart, lungs and brain to varying degrees.

Until now, no studies have evaluated olfactory function in SLE patients.

Dr. Yehuda Shoenfeld, from Chaim Sheba Medical Center in Tel-Hashomer, Israel, and colleagues used a test that measures the ability to detect and identify various odors to assess olfactory function in 50 patients with SLE and in 50 age- and sex-matched "controls."

A reduced sense of smell was identified in 46 percent of SLE patients compared with just 25 percent of controls, the team reports in the medical journal Arthritis and Rheumatism.

Complete loss of the ability to smell was noted in 10 percent of SLE patients, but in none of those in the control group.

As mentioned, as the smelling deficit increased, so did SLE disease activity and neurological symptoms. This, coupled with previous research, suggests the possibility of an autoimmune cause of olfactory impairment, the researchers conclude.

SOURCE: Arthritis and Rheumatism, May 2009.