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Sniffin’ Sticks and olfactory system imaging in patients with Kallmann syndrome
Author(s) -
Ottaviano Giancarlo,
Cantone Elena,
D'Errico Arianna,
Salvalaggio Alessandro,
Citton Valentina,
Scarpa Bruno,
Favaro Angela,
Sinisi Antonio Agostino,
Liuzzi Raffaele,
Bonanni Guglielmo,
Di Salle Francesco,
Elefante Andrea,
Manara Renzo,
Staffieri Alberto,
Martini Alessandro,
Brunetti Arturo
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
international forum of allergy and rhinology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.503
H-Index - 46
eISSN - 2042-6984
pISSN - 2042-6976
DOI - 10.1002/alr.21550
Subject(s) - medicine , forebrain , sulcus , olfaction , kallmann syndrome , olfactory system , magnetic resonance imaging , olfactory bulb , cortex (anatomy) , anatomy , radiology , neuroscience , central nervous system , disease , covid-19 , psychiatry , biology , infectious disease (medical specialty)
Background The relationship between olfactory function, rhinencephalon and forebrain changes in Kallmann syndrome (KS) have not been adequately investigated. We evaluated a large cohort of male KS patients using Sniffin’ Sticks and MRI in order to study olfactory bulb (OB) volume, olfactory sulcus (OS) depth, cortical thickness close to the OS, and olfactory phenotype. Methods Olfaction was assessed administering Sniffin’ Sticks®, in 38 KS patients and 17 controls (by means of Screening 12 test®). All subjects underwent magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to study OB volume, sulcus depth, and cortical thickness. Results Compared to controls, KS patients showed smaller OB volume ( p <0.0001), reduced sulcus depth ( p <0.0001), and thicker cortex in the region close to the OS ( p <0.0001). Anosmic KS patients had smaller OB than controls and hyposmic KS patients; there was no difference between hyposmic KS patients and controls. OB volume correlated with Sniffin’ Sticks score ( r = 0.64; p < 0.001), OS depth ( p <0.0001) and, inversely, with cortical thickness changes ( p <0.0001). Sniffin’ Sticks showed an inverse correlation with cortical thickness ( r = −0.5; p <0.0001) and a trend toward a statistically significant correlation with OS depth. Conclusion The present study provides further evidence of the strict relationship between olfaction and OB volume. The strong correlation between OB volume and the overlying cortical changes highlights the key role of rhinencephalon in forebrain embryogenesis.