Research Center: Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston (MUSC)
Location: 67 President St, Charleston, SC 29425
Lead Researcher: Dr. Bernadette Cortese and Dr. Bashar Badran
IRB: This study has been reviewed and approved by the Medical University of South Carolina Institutional Review Board (Pro00127790)

Have you lost your sense of smell due to COVID? Researchers from the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston (MUSC) are exploring how smell training, combined with stimulation, can restore your sense of smell, and they need your help.

Join this research study to see if this innovative approach can help you regain what you’ve lost. Your participation could pave the way for new, effective treatments for smell loss and improve the lives of many. Be part of the solution today!

• Participants may benefit from the smell training provided in this study.
• Participants will be compensated for participating in this study.
• Participants may experience improvements in understanding COVID-related smell loss and its treatment more generally.
• Participants will be contributing valuable information that may benefit those with long-term COVID-related smell loss in the future.
• Participants will be helping to advance medical research.

• If you decide to participate in the study and later feel that you no longer wish to be part of it, you can withdraw at any time.
• Any information that you provide will be kept strictly confidential, except as required by law.
• Qualified health professionals will monitor your health as it relates to the study.

• Individuals aged 18-65 who have lost the ability to smell due to COVID-19
• Must be willing to receive treatment for persistent COVID-related smell loss
• Must not have previously received either trigeminal nerve stimulation or smell training to treat COVID-related smell loss
• Must not have a history of head injury
• Must not be pregnant, breastfeeding, or trying to get pregnant
• Must not have chronic sinus infections, severe allergies, lack of airflow, any neurological disorders (e.g., epilepsy, a neurodegenerative disorder, narcolepsy, etc.), or serious mental illness (e.g., schizophrenia, bipolar, or other psychotic disorder)
• Must not have taken any medications or drugs (prescribed, OTC, or illicit) through the nose within the last month. (e.g. nasal steroids or antihistamines, narcotics like cocaine or opioids, or any other drug)
• Must be able to attend 3 study visits at the research site over approximately 3 months

The study team will explain the research in its entirety but some details are:

• Participants will attend 3 in-person study visits over 12 weeks, undergoing clinical smell testing, memory, and attention assessments, and receiving initial treatment based on random assignment (smell training, smell training + stimulation, or placebo).
• Participants will complete questionnaires regarding their sense of smell, mental health, and quality of life both at in-person visits and from home. They will also receive equipment and directions for daily self-administered treatment for 12 weeks, with progress recorded on a website called REDCap.
• Participants will complete follow-up questionnaires from home at the 6-month time point.

Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston (MUSC)
Brief information about the research center: A community health care center that is founded in research and patient care. The institution has continued to thrive for over 200 years with its strong focus on innovation and accessibility of care across the state of South Carolina.

Please note:
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the researchers would like to assure the participants that ensuring their and the study staff’s safety is of utmost importance.