title: Loss of taste responds to high-dose biotin treatment.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  We saw 2 patients who lost their sense of taste, which was restored by pharmacologic doses of biotin. The key objective is to describe the 2 case reports and suggest a potential treatment for unexplained loss of taste.
  
  
  METHODS
  The first patient was a 67-year-old woman who lost her sense of taste taking Juvenon, a dietary herbal supplement containing acyl-L-carnitine, lipoic acid, calcium, phosphorus, and biotin 300 μg per day. The second patient was a 60-year-old man who lost his sense of taste after a sleeve gastrectomy for obesity.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The first patient did not respond to 5 mg per day of biotin, but taste was restored with 10 mg of biotin per day. Biotin was prescribed based on information that lipoic acid bound to the biotin transporter. Baseline urine gave no evidence of a pre-existing biotin deficiency. The second patient did not have restoration of taste after taking biotin 5 mg per day for 7 weeks but did have taste restoration on biotin 20 mg per day. Neither subject had an abnormal biotinidase level.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Further research into the relationship of biotin to taste is clearly indicated. Loss of taste was very distressing and significantly altered the quality of life for both patients. Since biotin up to 40 mg per day has been shown to be safe, a therapeutic trial of pharmacologic doses of biotin should be considered as a potentially curative treatment in patients who present with a loss of taste that has no obvious cause.
authors: Pennington Biomedical Research Center, Louisiana State University System, 6400 Perkins Road, Baton Rouge, LA 70808, USA. frank.greenway@pbrc.edu
authors: Frank L
authors: FL
authors: Greenway
authors: Donald K
authors: DK
authors: Ingram
authors: Eric
authors: E
authors: Ravussin
authors: Mark
authors: M
authors: Hausmann
authors: Steven R
authors: SR
authors: Smith
authors: Lauren
authors: L
authors: Cox
authors: Katie
authors: K
authors: Tomayko
authors: Benjamin V
authors: BV
authors: Treadwell
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D001710:Biotin / Q000172:deficiency / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D043523:Biotinidase / Q000378:metabolism; D019587:Dietary Supplements; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D005260:Female; D005743:Gastrectomy / Q000379:methods; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009765:Obesity / Q000601:surgery; D013649:Taste / Q000187:drug effects*; D013651:Taste Disorders / Q000139:chemically induced / Q000188:drug therapy*; D044465:White People
chemical_list: D001710:Biotin; D043523:Biotinidase