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Disorders of the Sense of Smell
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Olfactory nerve (I) disorders are due to interference with access of the odorant to the olfactory neuroepithelium (transport loss), injury to receptor region (sensory loss), or damage to central olfactory pathways (neural loss). The causes of olfactory disorders are summarized in Table 187-2); most common other than aging are severe upper respiratory infections, head trauma, and chronic rhinosinusitis. Although more than half of people between 65 and 80 years of age suffer from olfactory dysfunction that is idiopathic (presbyosmia), it is increasingly recognized that a number of neurodegenerative disorders are accompanied by olfactory impairment. Pts often present with a complaint of loss of the sense of taste even though their taste thresholds may be within normal limits.
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TREATMENT: DISORDERS OF THE SENSE OF SMELL
Therapy for allergic rhinitis, bacterial rhinitis and sinusitis, polyps, neoplasms, and structural abnormalities of the nasal cavities is usually successful in restoring the sense of smell.
There is no proven treatment for sensorineural olfactory losses; fortunately, spontaneous recovery can occur.
Cases due to exposure to cigarette smoke and other airborne toxic chemicals can recover if the insult is discontinued.
A nonblinded study reported that pts with hyposmia may benefit from smelling strong odors before going to bed and upon awakening over the course of several months.
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Glossopharyngeal Neuralgia
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This neuralgia involves the ninth (glossopharyngeal) and sometimes portions of the tenth (vagus) cranial nerves. Presents with paroxysmal, intense pain in tonsillar fossa of throat that may be precipitated by swallowing. There is no objective sensory or motor deficit. Other diseases affecting this nerve include herpes zoster, MS, or compressive neuropathy due to tumor or aneurysm in region of jugular foramen (when associated with vagus and accessory nerve palsies).
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TREATMENT: GLOSSOPHARYNGEAL NEURALGIA
Medical therapy is similar to that for trigeminal neuralgia, and carbamazepine is generally the first choice.
If drug therapy is unsuccessful, surgical procedures (including microvascular decompression if vascular compression is evident, or rhizotomy of glossopharyngeal and vagal fibers in the jugular bulb) are frequently successful.
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Dysphagia and Dysphonia
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Lesions of the vagus nerve (X) may be responsible. Unilateral lesions produce drooping of soft palate, loss of gag reflex, and “curtain movement” of lateral wall of pharynx with hoarse, nasal voice. Etiologies include neoplastic and infectious processes of the meninges, tumors and vascular lesions in the medulla, motor neuron disease (e.g., ALS), or compression of the recurrent laryngeal nerve by intrathoracic processes. Aneurysm of the aortic arch, an enlarged left atrium, and tumors of the mediastinum and bronchi are much more frequent causes of an isolated vocal cord palsy than are intracranial disorders. A substantial number of cases of recurrent laryngeal palsy remain idiopathic.
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With laryngeal palsy, first determine the site of the lesion. If intramedullary, there are usually other brainstem or cerebellar signs. If extramedullary, the glossopharyngeal (IX) and spinal accessory (XI) nerves are frequently involved (jugular foramen syndrome). If extracranial in the posterior laterocondylar or retroparotid space, there may be combinations of ninth, tenth, eleventh, and twelfth cranial nerve palsies and a Horner’s syndrome. If there is no sensory loss over the palate and pharynx and no palatal weakness or dysphagia, lesion is below the origin of the pharyngeal branches, which leave the vagus nerve high in the cervical region; the usual site of disease is then the mediastinum.
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Isolated involvement of the accessory (XI) nerve can occur anywhere along its route, resulting in paralysis of the sternocleidomastoid and trapezius muscles. More commonly, involvement occurs in combination with deficits of the ninth and tenth cranial nerves in the jugular foramen or after exit from the skull. An idiopathic form of accessory neuropathy, similar to Bell’s palsy, has been described; most pts recover but it may recur.
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The hypoglossal (XII) nerve supplies the ipsilateral muscles of the tongue. The nucleus of the nerve or its fibers of exit may be involved by intramedullary lesions such as tumor, poliomyelitis, or most often motor neuron disease. Lesions of the basal meninges and the occipital bones (platybasia, invagination of occipital condyles, Paget’s disease) may compress the nerve in its extramedullary course or in the hypoglossal canal. Isolated lesions of unknown cause can occur. Atrophy and fasciculation of the tongue develop weeks to months after interruption of the nerve.