The Prevalence of Gustatory Dysfunction in Multiple Sclerosis Versus Neuromyelitis Optica
Shadi Ghourchian1, Masoud Etemadifar2, Ahmadreza Jannesari3, Hosein Nouri4, Mehri Salari5, Farzaneh Montazeri4
1Department of Neurology, Downstate University at OBH, NY, US, 2Department of Neurosurgery, School of Medicine, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran, 3Ophthalmic Research Center, Research Institute for Ophthalmology and Vision Science, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences,Tehran, Iran, 4School of Medicine, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran, 5Functional Neurosurgery Research Center, Shohada Tajrish Comprehensive Neurosurgical Center of Excellence, Tehran, Iran
Objective:
This study aimed to provide a descriptive analysis of taste disturbance in a large sample of patients with MS and NMOSD.
Background:
The gustatory pathway might be affected during the course of both Multiple sclerosis (MS) and Neuromyelitis Optica Spectrum Disorder (NMOSD) depending on the location of the lesion. Conclusive findings for taste impairment in either disease is lacking; raising the need for further studies.
Design/Methods:
Medical records of 5190 MS and 163 NMOSD patients from MS and NMOSD database of the MS Center were reviewed. Patients with confirmed gustatory dysfunction in the setting of MS or NMO, were recruited for analysis. SPSS software version 26 was used for descriptive analysis and comparing the prevalence of taste dysfunction between MS and NMO patients.
Results:
47 MS patients (42 women) with mean age of 37.7±11.8 years old and 5 NMO patients (5 women) with a mean age of 36.7±9.3 years old were included for analysis. The prevalence of gustatory dysfunctions was significantly higher in NMOSD patients (1% vs 3%, P = 0.02). Mean EDSS was 1.5 in both groups. Periventricular and brain stem lesions were most common imaging findings in MS patients with taste dysfunction and all 5 NMO patients had brainstem or spinal lesions.
Conclusions:
Given the high prevalence of taste impairment in not only MS patietns , but also NMO patients, particularly in early stages of the disease, it is highly recommended to conduct taste assessment during initial visit and monitor the symptoms throughout the course of the diseases.