Talk:Sensory - Smell Development

2010

The cell biology of smell

J Cell Biol. 2010 Nov 1;191(3):443-52.

DeMaria S, Ngai J.

Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA. Abstract The olfactory system detects and discriminates myriad chemical structures across a wide range of concentrations. To meet this task, the system utilizes a large family of G protein-coupled receptors-the odorant receptors-which are the chemical sensors underlying the perception of smell. Interestingly, the odorant receptors are also involved in a number of developmental decisions, including the regulation of their own expression and the patterning of the olfactory sensory neurons' synaptic connections in the brain. This review will focus on the diverse roles of the odorant receptor in the function and development of the olfactory system.

PMID: 21041441 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21041441

http://jcb.rupress.org/content/191/3/443.long

Anosmia Predicts Hypogonadotropic Hypogonadism in CHARGE Syndrome

Bergman JE, Bocca G, Hoefsloot LH, Meiners LC, van Ravenswaaij-Arts CM. J Pediatr. 2010 Sep 29.

OBJECTIVE: To test the hypothesis that a smell test could predict the occurrence of hypogonadotropic hypogonadism (HH) in patients with CHARGE syndrome, which is a variable combination of ocular coloboma, heart defects, choanal atresia, retardation of growth/development, genital hypoplasia, and ear anomalies or hearing loss caused by mutations in the CHD7 (chromodomain helicase DNA binding protein 7) gene.

STUDY DESIGN: We performed endocrine studies and smell testing (University of Pennsylvania Smell Identification Test) in 35 adolescent patients with molecularly confirmed CHARGE syndrome.

RESULTS: Complete data on smell and puberty were available for 15 patients; 11 patients had both anosmia and HH, whereas 4 patients had normosmia/hyposmia and spontaneous puberty. In addition, 7 boys were highly suspected of having HH (they were too young for definite HH diagnosis, but all had cryptorchidism, micropenis, or both) and had anosmia. The type of CHD7 mutation could not predict HH because a father and daughter with the same CHD7 mutation were discordant for HH and anosmia.

CONCLUSION: Anosmia and HH were highly correlated in our cohort, and therefore smell testing seems to be an attractive method for predicting the occurrence of HH in patients with CHARGE syndrome. The use of this test could prevent delay of hormonal pubertal induction, resulting in an age-appropriate puberty.

PMID: 20884005 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20884005