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> That is not the same as "nerves and blood vessels in their nose". The words literally mean "nerves and blood vessels in the nose". The quoted text also tells
by timr 5y ago
> That is not the same as "nerves and blood vessels in their nose".
The words literally mean "nerves and blood vessels in the nose". The quoted text also tells you that the observed pathology is not from direct viral infection.
Saying that "covid leads to brain damage" because the olfactory nerves are connected to the brain is an unsupported leap, and it's why the title of the paper doesn't say this. The title of this article is purposely sensational, and really needs to be changed.
A better, more accurate title would be: "covid smell loss due to inflammation in the olfactory epithelia".
Or just the title of the paper itself.
- slg 5y ago>A better, more accurate title would be: "covid smell loss do to inflammation in the olfactory bulb". I'm a layperson. Like many laypeople, I would have no idea what the "olfactory bulb" was if I saw it in a headline, but the Wikipedia page for it starts with "The olfactory bulb (Latin: bulbus olfactorius) is a neural structure of the vertebrate forebrain...". It certainly sounds like "brain" is a fair and accurate summary.
- timr 5y agoIf you're a "layperson" and resorting to reading wikipedia, then you really have no basis to draw any conclusion. But you're extremely willing to jump to scary conclusions, and disregard people who understand the paper and terminology and tell you that your conclusion is wrong.
- slg 5y agoI think there is an implicit assumption that HN titles shouldn't be written in jargon that most people reading it won't understand.
- timr 5y agoIt's a medical paper. It isn't written for non-practitioners, and if you don't understand it, the best thing to do is not to speculate, but to reserve judgment.
- slg 5y agoI don't know what your point is considering I never speculated about anything in these comments. Ironically enough, you seem to be speculating about what people might speculate about when they see that headline.
- timr 5y ago> I'm a layperson. Like many laypeople, I would have no idea what the "olfactory bulb" was if I saw it in a headline...It certainly sounds like "brain" is a fair and accurate summary.
- slg 5y agoIt is funny how something starts to seem more like speculation when you conveniently throw an ellipsis over the part in which I cite the source where the "speculation" came from. I wasn't speculating. I was quoting Wikipedia.