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Scientists have developed a test for Parkinson's disease based on its characteristic odor after teaming up with a woman who can feel the disease before tremors and other clinical symptoms appear.
The test could help doctors diagnose patients faster and identify people in the early stages of the disease, who could benefit from experimental drugs aimed at preventing the destruction of brain cells.
Perdita Barran, of the University of Manchester, said the test had the potential to reduce the time needed to distinguish people with normal brain aging from those with early signs of the disease. "Being able to say categorically and early that a person with Parkinson's disease would be very helpful," she said.
Most people can not detect the smell of Parkinson's disease, but some people who have an increased sense of smell report a distinct, musky odor to patients. Joy Milne, a former nurse, first noticed the smell on her husband, Les, 12 years before the diagnosis.
Milne only realized that she could sniff Parkinson's when she attended a patient support group with her husband and found that everyone in the room had the same odor. She thinks about it before talking about the smell to Tilo Kunath, a neurobiologist who studies Parkinson's disease at the University of Edinburgh.
Kunath tested Milne's skills by having her T-shirt worn by healthy people or Parkinson's patients. Milne identified all the people worn by the patients and said that another t-shirt wore the same scent. Eight months later, the carrier was diagnosed with the disease.
For the last study, Barran collaborated with Kunath and Milne to identify the main substances that cause Parkinson's distinct odor. They focused on the compounds in sebum, a waxy fluid that is secreted by the skin's glands, especially in the upper back, where Milne said the scent was the most powerful.
Scientists used a technique called mass spectrometry to measure levels of volatile chemicals in sebum on swabs from Parkinson's patients and healthy volunteers. By testing different groups, they reduced the number of odorous compounds from four to four that seem to be the most important for the fragrance.
Writing in the ACS Central Science journal, the researchers describe how Milne confirmed that the four compound mixtures had the same musky odor as Parkinson's patients. Tests showed that the concentrations of three substances, eicosane, hippuric acid and octadecanal, were all higher than normal in the sebum of patients with Parkinson's disease, whereas the concentrations of a fourth substance, Perillic aldehyde, were weaker.
To determine whether the test can detect Parkinson's disease before doctors, scientists have teamed up with Austrian researchers studying REM sleep disorders. A separate study found that people with a specific type of this type of disorder were at 50% risk of developing Parkinson's disease later in life.
"If we can detect the disease at an early stage, that would be very good news. That would mean that we will have a test that will detect it before motor symptoms appear, "Barran said.
At the same time, more than 1,000 Parkinson's patients and hundreds of healthy people will have their sebum analyzed to determine the reliability of the test. Scientists will also examine whether odor changes reflect the progression of the disease, or even different forms of Parkinson's disease.
Werner Poewe, director of neurology at the Innsbruck School of Medicine, said that early and accurate diagnosis of Parkinson's disease is essential to give patients the best advice and treatment. The discovery of a Parkinson's perfume "opens up a whole new approach to test the presence of Parkinson's disease with a non-invasive test that only involves dabbing a piece of gauze on a patient's neck area", a- he declared.
"Identify [early] The stages of the disease in those who have not yet developed the classic signs and symptoms of Parkinson's disease are a necessary first step to test new treatments that will delay or prevent the onset of this disease, "added Mr. Poewe.
Milne, whose sense of smell is so sensitive that she has to avoid the most scented rays of supermarkets, has also identified the odors of other diseases. For her, Alzheimer's vaguely vanilla, while the cancer has a more earthy smell. In its next collaboration with the Manchester Group, the goal will be to identify the chemicals that produce a characteristic odor of TB.
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