Anodal Electrical Taste Stimulation to the Chin Enhances the Salt Taste Perception in Subarachnoid Hemorrhage Patients

TL;DR

Applying electrical stimulation to the chin can enhance salt taste perception in patients with subarachnoid hemorrhage, potentially helping them reduce salt intake without losing flavor.

Contribution

This is the first report demonstrating the effectiveness of anodal electrical taste stimulation in enhancing salt taste perception in a real patient.

Findings

Electrical stimulation lowered the salt taste threshold from 0.8% to 0.6% on filter paper.

Salt perception increased with stimulation, with 0.8% and 1.0% salt perceived as 0.6% and 0.8% without stimulation.

This is the first clinical case showing ETS's potential to enhance salt taste in subarachnoid hemorrhage patients.

Abstract

Aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) is a critical condition associated with high mortality rates. Hypertension is a significant risk factor for SAH development and recurrence following coil embolization for a ruptured aneurysm. While reduction of salt consumption is crucial for managing hypertension, it often compromises food taste. Anodal electrical taste stimulation (ETS) has been proposed to enhance taste perception without altering salt content. We present the case of a 69-year-old female SAH patient with a ruptured aneurysm at the anterior communicating artery who underwent coil embolization and in whom we tested ETS’s efficacy in enhancing the salt taste perception on day 42 after the procedure. ETS effectively enhanced the salt taste perception threshold and perceived concentration; the threshold for salt taste without electrical stimulation was 0.8% of salt-impregnated filter paper, whereas that with electrical stimulation was 0.6%. The perception of salt taste was enhanced: 0.8% and 1.0% of filter papers were perceived as 0.6% and 0.8% without electrical stimulation and 1.0% and 1.2% with electrical stimulation, respectively. This is the first report describing the salt perception-enhancing effect of ETS in an actual patient. Further studies involving actual patients are required to determine how ETS affects habitual salt intake and blood pressure trends.

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