Victims have described it as a “death penalty” to be seen on the street abuse, in ordering buses and being driven out of society only by those who are under effects of fish odor syndrome – the real smell of breathless fish and body fluids – hope a cure is now at hand after a break with British scientists.
Formally known as trimethylaminuria, the condition is caused by the inability of the liver to break down the chemical trimethylamine (TMA), caused by digestion of meat, fish and milk.
The frequency of the debilitating condition – which affects breathing, sweating, urine and vaginal fluids – is not fully understood, but studies have estimated that, by race, between 0.5 and 11 percent of people with the underlying genetic mix.
The syndrome was diagnosed in more than a third of patients referred to a malodour clinic in Philadelphia, a paper found in 2011.
There is currently no cure. All patients can change their diet, wash frequently, and take covert measures to hide the putrid odor.
However, experts at the University of Warwick have now passed the important milestone in finding an effective cure.
Through complex biochemistry, they have stabilized the enzyme that makes TMA, CntA / B, which is very difficult to study. This allowed them to capture a 3D crystal model of its structure, offering a target for drug development.
Dr Mussa Quareshy, who led the research at the Warwick School of Life Sciences, said: “This is vital not only for people with fish odor syndrome, but also because TMA can accelerate atherosclerosis and heart disease, so e urgency to be targeted with drugs is very important. ”
The first case report of fish odor syndrome was only published in 1970. However, scientists suspect that the condition has long been recognized as a specific type of odor, even among non-humans. clerk.
In a 2013 scientific literature study, experts at Ohio State University even speculated that this consciousness was confirmed by Shakespeare.
When he first sees Caliban in Tempest, Trinculo wonders: “What do we have here? Man or fish? Dead or alive? Fish! It smells like fish; smells very old and fish-like; the latest kind of poor John. ”
The 2013 study found that “cases have been reported from almost every corner of the globe and in all genders, although it is likely that women, especially those of African descent, may be over-represented”.
In January 2020, Paula Thomas, a 45-year-old from Bristol who lives with the condition, described her problems as a result of the false smells.
“It’s like living with a death penalty – I wouldn’t call it my worst enemy, it’s so bad,” she told the BBC. “Discrimination, harassment, harassment and the smell itself is just awful.
“When I’m on a bus I hear ideas like ‘oh smell like toilet’ and ‘gutter’ and every name smells in the book, I heard it all.”
Ms Thomas, who is black, said some of the abuse was racist.
Explained in the Journal of Biological Chemistry, the breakthrough at the University of Warwick is all the more remarkable because the enzyme responsible for TMA has only recently been discovered.
It is part of a broader revolution in understanding the importance of the biology of sculpting for overall health.