Gene therapy in mice restores sense of smell, may also aid
research into other diseases caused by cilia defects, U-M researchers say.
Scientists have restored the sense of smell in mice through
gene therapy for the first time -- a hopeful sign for people who can’t smell
anything from birth or lose it due to disease.
The achievement in curing congenital anosmia -- the medical
term for lifelong inability to detect odors -- may also aid research on other
conditions that also stem from problems with the cilia. Those tiny hair-shaped
structures on the surfaces of cells throughout the body are involved in many
diseases, from the kidneys to the eyes.