European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - April 17, 1986, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Thursday april 17, 1986 the stars and stripes Page 13 health & science news loss sense of smell plagues Many americans by Gayle Young up science writer new York roses and roasts Emit microscopic chemicals to entice the nose but for thousands of americans it is All in vain they have no sense of smell. Blindness and deafness Are obvious losses of sensory perception but smell is also a sense we rely on said or. Charles p. Kimmelman an otolaryngologist in new York. I won t say loss of smell is As dangerous or prevalent but it is a significant problem for Many  an estimated 200,000 people walk into doctors offices every year complaining they have lost the ability to smell according to the american Academy of otolaryngology in Washington. Most Are suffering a temporary loss from colds asthma or viral infection. But for some the condition will be permanent and doctors say the complexity of the sense of smell makes it difficult to restore. The sensory nerves for smell cover the size of a Small Fingernail deep in the nasal passages of the nose said David . Fairbanks spokesman for the Academy. Stimulated by chemical molecules they fire signals to the olfactory area of the brain located at the forehead. The More molecules present in the air the stronger the perceived odor he said but the nose eventually becomes used to a particular odor and the smell appears to fade. These nerve cells cover the entire inside of the nose of a sheep or a Deer which is Why they can smell you a mile away said Fairbanks. Humans have a very shallow sense of smell in comparison but just a few molecules is enough to trigger the  some patients complain they Are too sensitive to doors said the doctors who called this a psychological rather than a physical the human nose  sinus Superior Turbinate Superior Meatus Middle Turbinate atrium Vestibule hard palate Middle Meatus Pheno Ethmoid Al recess Spheroidal sinus nerves of nose olfactory nerves Anterior Ethmoid Al nerve Nas Palatine nerve inferior Turbinate inferior Meatus Cushion auditory tube orifice soft palate Chicago Tribune graphic source world Book problem. We All have the same millions of smell sensory cells said Fairbanks. Some peo ple Are just More aware of what they Are smelling and attach More importance to  the senses of taste and smell Are deeply intertwined although the nerves from the taste buds in the Mouth Are completely sep Arate from those of the nose said Kimmel Man. We estimate 80 percent of flavor is actually smell he said. The doors of what we put in our Mouths pass through our nasal Cav Tity As we  this accounts for a burning sensation in the nose when we eat spicy food and the Bland taste of food when we Are congested with a cold or allergy Kimmelman said. Anyone who has Ever eaten an Orange while they have a cold knows this feeling he said. When the nose is infected with a cold or allergy the lining swells and pulls the smell nerves away from their connectors to the brain said Fairbanks. They Are very Short nerves he said. It does t take much to pull the plug so to  most people who complain of a Lack of smell Are suffering Frorer inflammation of the nasal cavity said the doctors due to lingering colds viral infections or the snort ing of drugs. When the swelling goes away the sense of smell usually returns. Loss of smell May be a symptom of some thing worse such As a tumor or brain can cer that has interrupted the transmission of signals from the nerves in the nose to the brain the doctors said. Head injuries can also sever these connections especially a Sharp blow to the forehead where the olfactory senses Are located. Those who have lost their sense of smell for no apparent reason probably have been permanently damaged by a viral infection said Fairbanks. Whatever the cause of the sensory loss doctors have to rely on observation or guess work because it is too dangerous to perform exploratory surgery in the brain. Life without smell is far from impossible say the doctors although smell gives us the ability to detect fire and poisons in our food. Often they just want some emotional support some reassurance that this is a problem and not something to laugh at said Fairbanks of his patients who have completely lost the sense. Food is never the same for them again and they have to look at that a whole new  this is especially True for the elderly who slowly lose their sense of smell just As they May lose their sight and hearing. Some gerontologists speculate Many elderly do not eat enough because they have lost their sense of smell and therefore taste. People who smoke also will slowly lose the sense As harsh chemicals in smoke de stroy their nerves of smell said the doctors. And then there Are those few who were born without a sense of smell to begin with Only slowly realizing through their child Hood that there is something different about their perception of the world around them. There s that saying try to describe the color red to someone who has been Blind since birth " said Kimmelman. Well imagine trying to describe the scent of a Rose to someone who has never had the Abil Ity to  60 of Hawkins staffers take drug test 1 refuses Tallahassee Fla. A about 60 employees of sen. Paula Haw Kins have submitted to drug tests which the Florida Republican her husband and their three children have promised to take this week. One aide quit rather than undergo the urinalysis exam that detects traces of cocaine marijuana and opiates. One person quit because that person objected to taking the test said Bill Hart Hawkins press Secretary in Washington. He said the person is a woman but declined to name her to protect her privacy. Hawkins who is recovering from spinal surgery at Duke University medical Cen Ter in Durham n.c., said last month that the testing would be mandatory for Mem Bers of her staff. She also suggested that every Federal employee including presi Dent Reagan and every schoolteacher and government worker be tested. The first term senator who is seeking re election in november has made the fight against drugs a Central Issue of her term and her candidacy. Tests administered to Hawkins aides Cost $7 each and she is paying for them out of an office account Hart said. About 30 staff members from the top administrator to clerks went to a first Aid station in the Senate office building in Washington to offer urine samples monday. Hart said three other staff members were away on business and would be tested when they return. Workers in Florida District offices in Miami Winter Park and Tallahassee were instructed to leave samples at local medical facilities. The senator s personal Secretary Jan ice Shelton sent her specimen via air mail from North Carolina where she is staying with Hawkins. It will be about a week before the test results Are known. Hart said any staff member who tests positive can undergo a second More detailed test. If drugs Are found on the second test the staffer can choose to enter a drug treatment pro Gram or find another Job. Massack usefus non smoker loses lawsuit against firm Boston up Massachusetts employees Are not guaranteed the right of a smoke free workplace the state s highest court ruled tuesday in a Case brought by a woman with an allergy to tobacco smoke. In a unanimous decision the supreme court ruled Lynne Bernard was not entitled to some $56,000 in damages from the Cam Eron and Colby co. Bernard charged the company violated her contract by removing her from a smoke free area. She said despite the fact there was no actual clause in the contract to pro vide a smoke free area there was an implied obligation because she made the employer aware of her allergy. But the justices ruled Bernard failed to prove that argument and declined to Over turn a lower court ruling that threw out her complaint. Noting Bernard previously failed to make an argument on the dangers of Sec Ond hand smoke Justice Neil Lynch wrote the court has never reversed a decision based on arguments not raised in a lower court proceeding. Oking on St percent of Smol spation v \. Of itift0, construction y Laj. _ Fri Vav Fri a Najj a _ if you drink the water study suggests try eating Yogurt St. Louis up scientists presented a study suggesting that Yogurt May prevent the familiar intestinal ailments suffered by travellers on visits to third world countries. The study released at the 70th annual meeting of the american societies for experimental biology was conducted by an Thony d. Hitchins Frank e. Mcdonough and Noble p. Wong at an agriculture department lab in Beltsville my. The three scientists cautioned that their experiments were carried out on Laboratory rats. Laboratory rats Are after All a differ ent species said the study. And the Laboratory environment is not a natural  but the study said rats fed Yogurt exclusively were More resistant to bacteria commonly responsible for intestinal disorders and commonly found in the water in underdeveloped nations than rats fed the corresponding milk used to make Yogurt. To make their work More applicable to the third world population the research ers used not milk or Yogurt exclusively but a dietary formulation containing these foods the study said. In the first week of the four week study the rats were injected with Salmonella a bacteria. Weight gain fell by 35 percent in milk fed infected rats but Only by 15 percent in Yogurt fed rats infected with Salmonella the report said. The study said additional research is Essary to discover Why Yogurt is advantageous and to learn whether humans will Benefit in the same Way