Sensory Science and Metabolism; Molecular and Neuronal Mechanisms

National Institute On Alcohol Abuse And Alcoholism

Investigators

Linked publications, trials & patents

Abstract

The Section of Sensory Science and Metabolism (SenSMet) laboratory at NINR/NIAAA conducts translation and clinical inpatient and outpatient studies. Active collaborations to investigate areas of common interest in nutrition, taste, and obesity have been undertaken. Specifically, double-blind clinical protocols for which sensory phenotyping measures have been implemented in collaboration with Dr. Gibbons (NIHGRI) and Dr. Hall (NIDDK) continue. In addition, new collaborations develop as follows: a) to investigate neuronal mechanisms in obesity; b) to investigate multi-sensory alterations in AUD/OUD participants, c) to investigate how taste and smell are affected with COVID-19. 1. Sensory Systems and Chronic Disorders. A common complaint among oncology patients receiving chemotherapy is altered taste perception. Dietary habits are mostly governed by oro-sensory detection. The purpose of this study, led by Dr. Paule Joseph in collaboration with Chris Miaskowski and Kord Kober from UCSF, is to evaluate differences in common symptoms and stress levels in patients who reported taste changes. This study provides new evidence on associations between taste changes and common co-occurring symptoms and stress in oncology patients receiving chemotherapy. Clinicians need to evaluate for taste changes in these patients because this symptom can affect patients' nutritional intake and quality of life (Joseph, P.V. et al., 2021). To conclude this project Dr. Claudia Colina-Prisco will characterize exosomes and will examine neuroinflammatory markers in exosomes isolated from serum in oncology patients. This second part of the study is in progress. 2. Obesity and alcohol use disorder (AUD). Excessive alcohol consumption is associated with poor diet. There are mixed reports in the literature, so far, and it is imperative to obtain a more detailed understanding of the relationships between diet composition and binge drinking at different thresholds (i.e., number of drinks). Drs. Khushbu Agarwal and Paule Joseph investigated the association between different alcohol consumption thresholds, macronutrient composition, caloric intake, and anthropometric measures from a publicly available dataset. Results showed that higher frequency drinkers consumed a lower percentage of their energy from carbohydrates (42.11%, 41.68%, and 41.94%) compared to never/infrequent drinkers. Participants who drank 12+ drinks/episode consumed significantly fewer grams of dietary fiber (12.81g) compared to never/infrequent drinkers (16.67g). High alcohol intake is associated with differences in eating habits and body composition. A manuscript was submitted for publication. Decision-making deficits in obesity and alcohol use disorder (AUD) may contribute to the choice of immediate rewards despite their long-term deleterious consequences. Results from this study led by Dr. Khushbu Agarwal, showed that interaction between BMI and alcohol drinking was seen in regions of the default mode network (DMN) and those implicated in self-related processing, memory, and salience attribution. Obesity high risk (obesityHR) relative to obesity low risk (obesityLR) also recruited DMN along with primary motor and regions implicated in inattention, negative perception, and uncertain choices, which might facilitate impulsive choices in obesityHR. Furthermore, obesityHR compared to leanHR/leanLR also demonstrated heightened activation in DMN and regions implicated in uncertain decisions (Agarwal, et al., 2021). 3. Taste, Smell and COVID-19 In 2020, Taste and smell loss became a key symptom of COVID-19. In order to address this emergency issue, Dr. Joseph led with other colleagues the development of the Global Consortium for Chemosensory Research (GCCR). Several publications have been printed since its inception. Individuals with obesity show alterations in smell and taste abilities. Smell and taste loss are also the most prominent neurological symptoms of COVID-19, yet how chemosensory ability presents in individuals with obesity with a positive COVID-19 diagnosis is unknown. In this secondary analysis of a cross-sectional global dataset, we compared self-reported chemosensory ability in participants with a respiratory illness reporting a positive (C19+; n = 5156) or a negative (C19-; n = 659) COVID-19 laboratory test outcome, who also self-reported to be obese (C19+; n = 433, C19-; n = 86) or non-obese. Results: Compared to the C19- group, C19+ exhibited a greater decline in smell, taste, and chemesthesis during illness, though these symptoms did not differ between participants with obesity and without obesity. In 68% of participants who reported recovery from respiratory illness symptoms (n=3431 C19+ and n= 539 C19-), post-recovery chemosensory perception did not differ in C19+ and C19- diagnosis, and by self-reported obesity. Finally, we found that all chemosensory and other symptoms combined predicted the C19+ diagnosis in participants with obesity with a moderately good estimate (63% accuracy). However, in C19+ participants with obesity, we observed a greater relative prevalence of non-chemosensory symptoms, including respiratory as respiratory and GI symptoms. We conclude that despite a presumed lower sensitivity to chemosensory stimuli, COVID-19 respondents with obesity experience a similar self-reported chemosensory loss as those without obesity, and in both groups self-reported chemosensory symptoms are similarly predictive of COVID-19 (Bhutani, S. et al., 2021). Chemosensory impairments have been established as a specific indicator of COVID-19. They affect most patients and may persist long past the resolution of respiratory symptoms, representing an unprecedented medical challenge. Since the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic started, we now know much more about smell, taste, and chemesthesis loss associated with COVID-19. However, the temporal dynamics and characteristics of recovery are still unknown. Here, capitalizing on data from the Global Consortium for Chemosensory Research (GCCR) crowdsourced survey, we assessed chemosensory abilities after the resolution of respiratory symptoms in participants diagnosed with COVID-19 during the first wave of the pandemic in Italy. This analysis led to the identification of two patterns of chemosensory recovery, limited (partial) and substantial, which were found to be associated with differential age, degrees of chemosensory loss, and regional patterns. Uncovering the self-reported phenomenology of recovery from smell, taste, and chemesthetic disorders is the first, yet essential step, to provide healthcare professionals with the tools to take purposeful and targeted action to address chemosensory disorders and its severe discomfort (Cecchetto, C. et al., 2021). Lastly, using a modified version of GCCR survery we collected data from the ALCOHOL COVID-19 IMPACT STUDY, Taste and smell are reportedly disturbed in individuals with AUD, and some studies have shown that individuals with severe AUD suffer with inability to discriminate taste and smell. The aim of this analysis is to investigate reports of chemosensory dysfunction, if any, in AUD within an ongoing longitudinal COVID-19 impact study. This is important because the COVID-19 pandemic had a major effect on multiple factors associated with AUD, including access to alcohol and changes in social and environmental variables (e.g., social isolation and access to health care). A study led by Dr. Khushbu Agarwal aims to investigate reports of chemosensory dysfunction, if any, in AUD within an ongoing longitudinal COVID-19 impact study. Preliminary results show an increased smell perception in individuals with increased alcohol consumption. A significant decrease in the mean taste score of AUD individuals was seen at various time points from baseline during the different COVID waves.