Immune Response Could Be , the Cause of Persistent , Loss of Smell From COVID.br NBC reports that COVID has taken away some people's sense of smell for months. Now a research group at br Duke Health believes they might understand why.br The team found evidence that inflammation br and immune response continued br long after the virus was gone. .br NBC reports that the new research could br lead to the development of drugs designed br to address the persistent loss of smell.br I think that answers the question br ‘What’s different about these people? br What is damaged and how br we might go about fixing that? br We clearly see a persistent br unresolved local immune response, Dr. Bradley Goldstein, an author of the paper and an br associate professor in Duke University’s department br of head and neck surgery and communication sciences, via NBC.br According to Dr. Bradley Goldstein, an author of the paper and br an associate professor at Duke University, those suffering from br persistent loss of smell had fewer olfactory cells than normal.br Instead, the team found more local br immune cells in the olfactory lining br than expected. .br What remains unclear is why the immune system br is responding this way and how COVID is affecting br the system that replaces olfactory neurons. .br NBC reports that the loss of taste or smell br can profoundly impact people's lives.br Loss of smell can have major br detrimental effects on people's emotional br and psychological well-being.