(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
