title: Reduced taste function and taste papillae density in children with chronic kidney disease.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Taste loss may contribute to the loss of appetite in children with chronic kidney disease (CKD) and other serious medical conditions that result in malnutrition. Traditional methods for measurement of taste loss commonly use aqueous tastant solutions that can induce nausea, vomiting, or even pain in the mouth. An alternative is to measure fungiform papillae density on the anterior tongue since this correlates with taste sensitivity. Here we aimed to develop a non-invasive method for assessing papillae density on the anterior tongue and to use the method to determine if CKD patients [estimated glomerular filtrate (eGFR < 60 ml/min/1.73 m(2))] have a lower density than clinical controls (CC)(eGFR > 89 ml/min/1.73 m(2)).
  
  
  METHODS
  Thirty-five healthy adults participated in the development of a method, which was assessed by 24 children, 12 of whom were CKD patients and 12 were clinical controls.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Similar papillae densities were found using invasive and non-invasive methods (F(1,34) = 0.647, p = 0.427). The CKD group had a significantly lower papillae density (X(2) = 7.17, p = 0.007) and poorer taste sensitivity than the CC group (p = 0.0272), and the density correlated significantly with eGFR (r = 0.56, p < 0.01).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Loss of taste in children with CKD is due to the reduced number of papillae and their taste-sensing receptor cells.
authors.affiliation: Children's Food Research and Education Unit, Centre for Advanced Food Research, College of Science, Technology and Environment, University of Western Sydney, Locked Bag 1797, Penrith South, NSW, 1797, Australia.
authors.forename: Maryam
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Correa
authors.affiliation: Children's Food Research and Education Unit, Centre for Advanced Food Research, College of Science, Technology and Environment, University of Western Sydney, Locked Bag 1797, Penrith South, NSW, 1797, Australia. d.laing@unsw.edu.au.|School of Women's and Children's Health, Medicine, University of NSW, Level 3 Sydney Children's Hospital, High Street, Randwick, NSW, 2031, Australia. d.laing@unsw.edu.au.
authors.forename: David G
authors.initials: DG
authors.lastname: Laing
authors.affiliation: Children's Food Research and Education Unit, Centre for Advanced Food Research, College of Science, Technology and Environment, University of Western Sydney, Locked Bag 1797, Penrith South, NSW, 1797, Australia.
authors.forename: Ian
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Hutchinson
authors.affiliation: School of Psychology and Social Sciences, University of Western Sydney, Locked Bag 1797, Penrith South, 1797, NSW, Australia.
authors.forename: Anthony L
authors.initials: AL
authors.lastname: Jinks
authors.affiliation: School of Women's and Children's Health, Medicine, University of NSW, Level 3 Sydney Children's Hospital, High Street, Randwick, NSW, 2031, Australia.
authors.forename: Jessica E
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Armstrong
authors.affiliation: School of Women's and Children's Health, Medicine, University of NSW, Level 3 Sydney Children's Hospital, High Street, Randwick, NSW, 2031, Australia.|Department of Nephrology, Sydney Children's Hospital, High Street, Randwick, NSW, 2031, Australia.
authors.forename: Gad
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Kainer
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D051436:Renal Insufficiency, Chronic / Q000150:complications*; D013650:Taste Buds / Q000473:pathology*; D013651:Taste Disorders / Q000209:etiology* / Q000473:pathology*; D014059:Tongue
keywords: Children; Fungiform papillae; Histology; Kidney disease; Taste