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FRIDAY, June 20 (HealthDay News) -- Only 36.2 percent of Americans with asthma received a flu shot during the 2005-06 flu season, even though people with asthma are at higher risk for complications from the flu, a federal government study finds.

That level of inoculation is well below the government's Healthy People 2010 target of 60 percent vaccination coverage for people ages 18 to 64 with high-risk conditions.

The analysis of 2006 National Health Interview Survey data found that those with health insurance, a usual place for health care, and a higher family income achieved the highest rates of vaccination. But even among those with the greatest number of health care visits, the rate of vaccination was only 50 percent.

The low rate of flu vaccination among people with asthma may be due to inadequate access to health care and missed opportunities at doctors' visits, the study authors said. Along with making improvement in these areas, they recommended a number of other ways to improve vaccination coverage in this at-risk group, including educating health care providers; encouraging patients to establish a usual place for health care; and continuing to vaccinate throughout the flu season.

The study was published in the June 20 issue of Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Since 1964, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices has recommended influenza vaccinations for all people with asthma.

More information

The U.S. National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute has more about asthma.

THURSDAY, June 19 (HealthDay News) -- The olfactory bulb in the brain -- the brain's "smell center" -- may change in size as a person's sense of smell changes, a German study reports.

In this study, researchers at the University of Dresden Medical School studied 20 people with loss of sense of smell. At the start of the study, the patients underwent an assessment that included MRI of the brain and nasal endoscopy, an examination of the inside of the nose using a flexible instrument called an endoscope. Their ability to detect odors, discriminate between odors and identify particular odors was also tested. The full assessment was repeated 13 to 19 months later.

At the first assessment, seven of the 20 patients had no sense of smell (anosmia) and 13 had a reduced sense of smell (hyposmia). At the second assessment, six had anosmia and 14 had hyposmia, the study found.

In patients who initially had hyposmia, the volume of the olfactory bulb increased as the patients' sense of smell increased. But there was no correlation between the volume of the olfactory bulb and the ability to distinguish between or identify specific odors.

The study was published in the June issue of the journal Archives of Otolaryngology -- Head & Neck Surgery.

"The correlation between olfactory bulb volume and olfactory function may potentially be used in combination with other factors influencing olfaction such as remaining olfactory function, age and duration of olfactory loss as a means to provide patients with individual information on the prognosis of their disease," the study authors wrote.

"Hypothetically, a multifactorial approach could be applied to eventually come up with a formula that would allow a more precise prognosis of olfactory function. Especially since therapeutic options in patients with olfactory loss are limited, at present, this type of information is of high clinical significance."

More information

The U.S. National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders has more about smell disorders.