(Ivanhoe Newswire) -- Some stuffy nosed mice may help doctors treat humans with sinus conditions.

An estimated 31 million Americans suffer with chronic sinusitis, persistent inflammation of the tissue lining the nasal and sinus cavities. Millions more have compromised sinus conditions from viral infections, head traumas, tumors, Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases. These patients suffer from a decreased quality of life due to their lack of smell and taste due to sinonasal inflammation.

"A sense of smell in good working order is essential to our quality of life,” Andrew Lane, M.D., associate professor at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, was quoted as saying.
 

To better understand, treat and prevent sinonasal inflammation, Dr. Lane and a team of researchers genetically engineered lab mice with inflamed nasal tissue, just like the tissue of humans with chronic sinusitis. They hope the mice will help researchers test symptoms like loss of smell, clogged and runny nose, and nasal polyps that sinusitis sufferers often cite and develop better ways to treat these patients.

SOURCE: Presented at the XV International Symposium on Olfaction and Taste in San Francisco, July 22, 2008