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Methotrexate‐induced impairment of taste acuity
Author(s) -
DUHRA P.,
FOULDS I.S.
Publication year - 1988
Publication title -
clinical and experimental dermatology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.587
H-Index - 78
eISSN - 1365-2230
pISSN - 0307-6938
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-2230.1988.tb00677.x
Subject(s) - taste , george (robot) , medicine , gerontology , dermatology , art history , art , psychology , neuroscience
Summary A male psoriatic patient satisfactorily controlled on oral weekly methotrexate (MTX) was investigated for a loss of taste sensation developing 3 months after commencing chemotherapy. The underlying mechanism and treatment of this idiosyncratic reaction are discussed. An altered taste sensation is a rare complication ol oral methotrexate therapy for psoriasis and has received scant attention in the literature. In one study of 35 psoriatics receiving 20–37.5 nig/week MTX, one patient complained of a sour taste. 1 In larger series of 204 and 248 psoriatics on oral 25 mg/week MTX a metallic taste was observed by 0.5–3% of patients. 2,3 An aberration of taste sensation, however, did nut lead to any patient being withdrawn from these studies. The precise mechanism and treatment of MTX‐induced altered taste acuity has not been previously elucidated. We therefore investigated a psoriatic patient with taste loss due to MTX to clarify its pathogenesis.