Abstract
Morphological and immunohistochemical examinations were performed on human olfactory epithelium from two patients with olfactory disturbance caused by common cold. The specimens were obtained using Nakano's forceps type 3. One patient was a 54-year-old male who visited our clinic 20 days after the loss of smell. The other was a 55-year-old female who was seen two years after lose of smell.
In the first patient, a few olfactory receptor cells were observed and neuronspecific enolase (NSE) immunoreactivity was found in the dendrite and perikaryon. In the second patient, olfactory epithelium appeared atrophic and thin. NSE immunoreactivity was not found in the epithelium. Cytokeratin (CK) immunoreactivity was found in one layer of cells on the basement membrane, and were assumed to be basal cells. Other cells, which did not react to anti-CK serum, were suspected to be sup-porting cells.
Biopsy of human olfactory mucosa using Nakano's forceps and immunohistochemical method were useful to characterize the olfactory disturbance.
