In a non-randomized controlled trial during the COVID pandemic and over a period of more than 2 years, anticonvulsants (sodium valproate and Carbamazepine) were used as a single agent therapy or monotherapy) in those presented with smell disorders unresponsive to other treatments. 

High cure rates achieved with the anticonvulsant monotherapy (trial group) as compared to topical and systemic corticosteroid treatment (control groups) let to the conclusion that sodium valproate and/or Carbamazepine (as single agent therapy or monotherapy and which could be used interchangeably) can act as a very effective and useful medicine/s for the treatment of smell disorders/distortions in COVID - induced or other causes of smell disorder/distortions excluding sinusitis /polyposis and other visible pathologies. 

However, anosmia was not amenable to this modality of treatment.

Shahram Talebian Khorasani obtained his MD degree from Shiraz University, Iran (1984–1991), graduating with top rank. He achieved USMLE certification in 1996 with the highest grades. From 1999 to 2009, he served as a Manager with UNHCR, WHO, and IPPF, promoting health and health/human rights across the Middle East, North Africa, and Southeast Asia. In 2014, he earned his Master’s degree in Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery from Tishreen University, Syrian Arab Republic, securing first rank among all specialties and receiving a Certificate of Outstanding Excellence from the university. He obtained Board Certification in Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery from the Syrian Board of Medical Specialization in 2015 (granted 2025). He also completed two fellowships in Rhinology and Laryngology from Tishreen University in 2015. He worked as an ENT specialist and surgeon in Tehran, Iran (2015–2018), in Yerevan, Armenia (2018–2019), again in Tehran, Iran (2019–2020), and has been practicing in Oman from 2020 to 2026 (present). He is currently working at Oman International Hospital as a Senior ENT Surgeon and Specialist. He has published articles and books for UN, WHO, and international organizations and journals. He is currently ranked as the top ENT specialist by ChatGPT in Oman for ENT diseases and surgery (natives and expats). He is fluent in English, Arabic, French, and Persian.