[Taste disorders. An update].

Clinically, taste disorders are less frequent than smell disorders. Nevertheless, they are very distressing to the concerned patients. Unfortunately, the underlying causes are not always found and a majority of patients are considered idiopathic dysgeusia cases. Besides this taste disorder of unknown origin, medication side effects and surgical injuries are the most frequent origins of dysgeusia. Despite recent, impressive molecular biological and physiological insight into the taste system, few clinical improvements have been achieved. Consequently, curative treatment options remain sparse.