A group of scientists from the University of Manchester in the UK have created a simple and rapid new test to identify Parkinson’s disease, a neurological disease that affects movement. According to the researchers, the method achieves results within three minutes and was inspired by Joy Milne, a woman who, according to her, was able to ‘smell’ the disease in her husband years before he was actually diagnosed.
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As I mentioned BBC News, Milne, a retired nurse from Perth, Scotland, explained that her husband Li’s smell had changed, so it was noticeable that something was wrong. “He had a bad stink, especially on his shoulders and the back of his neck, and his complexion definitely changed.”
The pensioner added in her report that after she was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease and confirmed that she had Parkinson’s disease, she began accompanying her husband to a support group in the United Kingdom – where she met scientists – and there all participants smelled the same as her husband. Leigh passed away in June 2015.
Insights into the new Parkinson’s test
After meeting and taking an interest in Milne’s account, the scientists and the nurse were able to create a simple skin swab test that they claim is 95% accurate under lab conditions when it comes to figuring out if people have Parkinson’s disease.
To develop the new test, researchers analyzed the sebum — a fatty substance in the skin — of 79 people with Parkinson’s disease. The result was compared to a group of 71 healthy people and the data showed more than 4,000 unique compounds in the samples, 500 of which were different between people with Parkinson’s disease and the control group. The study was published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society.
“We are currently developing (the test) in a research lab, and now we are working with our colleagues in the hospital’s analytical laboratories to take our test to them so it can work in the NHS environment.” Perdita Baran, who led the research.
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There is currently no chemical test for Parkinson’s disease. For Baran, developing a confirmatory test that a general practitioner can use would be “transformative.” The team hopes to be able to conduct clinical trials in people within two years.
“Without a definitive test, people have to wait months or years for a diagnosis to be made, so the fact that you can get the treatment and support you need, and that researchers can start new treatments, is very important,” James said. Parkinson’s disease UK director.
The night before Lees died, Joey made Milne promise to investigate her sense of smell. According to Joey, he said, “You have to do this because it’s going to make a difference.” Milne says she hopes her chance discovery will do just that, giving others what she can’t get: “…more family time.”
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