Olfactory and taste sensitivity in children with cystic fibrosis.

Psychophysical experiments measured both olfactory sensitivity to 1- butanol and sodium chloride 
and taste sensitivity to sodium chloride in normal children and in 
children with cystic fibrosis. The sensitivity of the children with cystic 
fibrosis fell within the normal range. These results stand in contrast 
to those of Henkin and Powell, who found children with cystic 
fibrosis to be hypersensitive to both olfactory and taste stimuli. Apparent 
hypersensitivity to taste stimuli could have resulted from the adapting effects 
of the relatively high level of sodium in the saliva of 
children with cystic fibrosis. If the contaminating effects of saliva are 
removed, children with cystic fibrosis yield, on the average, a taste 
threshold identical to that of normal children. There appears to be 
no simple explanation for why Henkin and Powell found hypersensitivity to 
odorants. The present results indicate that, in fact, children with cystic 
fibrosis display a slight hyposensitivity to odorants. 