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Reply to Matters Arising: Is congenital anosmia protective for Parkinson’s disease triggered by pathogenic entrance through the nose?

Year: 2023

Type: letter

Abstract: We have read with interest the “Matters Arising” commentary authored by Alexander Wieck Fjaeldstad, in which he comment on certain aspects of our recent article 1 . First, Dr. Fjaeldstad states that our title, which suggests that congenital anosmia could protect against the development of Parkinson’s disease (PD), does not align with the main hypothesis presented in the article. However, we respectfully disagree with this characterization given that our main hypothesis, as stated in the article, is that the absence of the olfactory bulb (OB) in individuals with isolated congenital anosmia (ICA) may serve as a protective factor against the initiation of PD in the OB. This hypothesis is supported by the proposed role of the OB as an entry point for pathogens or environmental components 2 . We explicitly state in the article, “Here, we propose a novel hypothesis that individuals with ICA might be immune to PD given the absence of their OB.” It bears emphasizing that not all cases of PD demonstrate a diminished sense of smell, as individuals with atypical parkinsonism, like multiple system atrophy, progressive supranuclear palsy, or corticobasal syndrome, typically do not display this symptom 3 . It is likely that the OB is not initially affected in these subtypes. This crucial differentiation is already mentioned in our original text, but merits further accentuation.

Source: npj Parkinson s Disease

DOI: 10.1038/s41531-023-00539-4

Authors: Artin Arshamian, Behzad Iravani, Johan N. Lundström

Institutions: Karolinska Institutet, Stanford University, Monell Chemical Senses Center

Language: English

Topic: Parkinson's Disease Mechanisms and Treatments

Subfield: Clinical Neurology

Field: Medicine

Domain: Health Sciences

SDG: Good health and well-being

Open Access status: gold

Estimated APC paid: $3,290