# Novel mechanisms and therapeutic approaches for nasal obstruction and olfactory losses

> **NIH NIH R01** · OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY · 2022 · $393,750

## Abstract

Project Summary
 Nasal sinus disease is one of the most common medical conditions in the US, affecting an
estimated 13% of adults, or some 30 million people, and responsible for $5.8 billion in health
care expenditures annually (National Health Interview Survey 2009, CDC). Nasal obstruction
and smell loss are two of the major symptoms of the disease; however, the field currently lacks
a clear, objective understanding to the mechanisms causing these symptoms, which thwarts
effective treatment. For example, patients’ complaints of nasal obstruction correlate poorly or
inconsistently with objective measurements of actual physical obstruction. Olfactory loss is
widely believed to be induced in part by airflow blockage that prevents sufficient ambient odor
from reaching the olfactory region; however, no tool has been able to evaluate and target such
conductive causes. Without validated clinically tools, current treatment of these symptoms relies
primarily on the patient’s subjective feedback and the doctor’s personal training and experience,
which can lead to inconsistent and unsatisfactory outcomes.
 Through a series of preliminary studies, we demonstrated that the symptom of nasal
obstruction may be caused not by obstruction per se but by poor sensing of airflow during
breathing, through the trigeminal cool-sensitive (TRPM8) pathway, and that such sensing may
be worsened by impaired trigeminal function. However, which trigeminal sensory regions and
what nasal airflow anomalies are most critical to disrupt the sensing of airflow are still unknown.
To establish a more direct link, in Aim 1 of this proposal, we will examine the critical trigeminal
sensory regions and critical nasal airflow distortions that may better predict airflow perception
and obstruction symptoms. TRPM8 is a major component of the cool afferent pathway that is
also activated chemically, which offers a unique dual investigatory tool to broaden our
understanding of chemosensory function in nasal sinus disease and open up new therapeutic
directions. So in Aim 2, we will investigate the efficacy of a novel patent-pending “nasal aid” to
improve patients’ symptoms by modulating nasal airflow and trigeminal sensory feedback and to
improve future treatment outcomes based on what we have learned and will continue to learn
about the airflow trigeminal perception mechanisms.
 We have also shown in a series of published studies that complicated relationships exist
between nasal obstruction and olfactory function. Based on these findings, in Aim 3 we propose
to explore how to potentially improve olfactory function in patients with likely conductive
olfactory loss, by enhancing nasal odor/air flow to the olfactory region (another pending US
patent), analogous to hearing aids or eye glasses that amplify peripheral sensory stimuli.
 The outcomes from this research may potentially validate several novel clinical tools to
better identify factors that most affect patients’ obstructive symptoms and t...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10587159
- **Project number:** 1R01DC020302-01A1
- **Recipient organization:** OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** KAI ZHAO
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $393,750
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2022-09-26 → 2027-07-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10587159

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10587159, Novel mechanisms and therapeutic approaches for nasal obstruction and olfactory losses (1R01DC020302-01A1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10587159. Licensed CC0.

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