味覚異常を伴ったＰｌｕｍｍｅｒ‐Ｖｉｎｓｏｎ症候群の１例

Abstract

This paper described a case of Plummer-Vinson syndrome and developmental changes of 4 primary taste qualities; sweet, sour, bitter and salty.In the patient, a male aged 78, a typical iron-deficiency anemia state was comfirmed by routine hematology. The tongue was very smooth because of atrophy of the filiform papillae and he had spoon-shaped nails. Slight difficulty of swallowing was also complained. Taste threshold values and difference threshold values of 4 taste qualities increased with this patient, especially sweet, sour and salty. Bitter was the only taste usually recognized.Following treatment with iron derivatives, there was much improvement and abnormal findings almost disappeared. The taste threshold values and difference threshold values for 4 taste qualities gradually decreased with improvement of iron-deficiency anemia. Therefore the taste abnormality of this patient was caused by atrophy of the papillae of tongue from irondeficiency anemia.