Assessment of olfactory nerve by SPECT-MRI image with nasal thallium-201 administration in patients with olfactory impairments in comparison to healthy volunteers

志賀 英明*; 滝 淳一*; 鷲山 幸信*; 山本 純平*; 木名瀬 栄; 奥田 光一*; 絹谷 清剛*; 渡邉 直人*; 利波 久雄*; 越田 吉郎*; et al.

PLOS ONE (Internet), 8(2), p.e57671_1 - e57671_8, 2013/02

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0057671

Current olfactory function tests are useful for the analysis of olfactory thresholds in olfaction-impaired patients. However, a decrease in olfactory thresholds has not been used as an index for olfactory nerve damage in patients. The authors assessed peripheral olfactory nerve viability by performing combined SPECT-CT after nasal administration of Tl-201 to determine whether olfactory nerve was damaged in patients with olfactory impairments in comparison to healthy volunteers. It was found that nasal Tl-201 migration to the olfactory bulb was significantly lower in the patients with head trauma, respiratory infection, and chronic rhinosinusitis than in healthy volunteers.