A Supersmeller Can Detect the Scent of Parkinson's, Leading To An Experimental Test For the Illness 40
Diana Kwon writes via Scientific American: A Scottish woman named Joy Milne made headlines in 2015 for an unusual talent: her ability to sniff out people afflicted with Parkinson's disease, a progressive neurodegenerative illness that is estimated to affect nearly a million people in the U.S. alone. Since then a group of scientists in the U.K. has been working with Milne to pinpoint the molecules that give Parkinson's its distinct olfactory signature. The team has now zeroed in on a set of molecules specific to the disease -- and has created a simple skin-swab-based test to detect them.
[...] The researchers used mass spectrometry to identify types and quantities of molecules in a sample of sebum, an oily substance found on the skin's surface. They discovered changes to fatty molecules known as lipids in people with Parkinson's. In their latest study, published on September 7 in the American Chemical Society journal JACS Au, the researchers revealed the results of using a simple skin-swab-based test to detect the lipid signature that is indicative of Parkinson's. By comparing sebum samples from 79 people with Parkinson's and 71 people without the illness, the team zeroed in on a set of large lipids that could be detected in a matter of minutes using a special type of mass spectrometry in which substances are rapidly transferred from a swab to an analyzer using just a piece of paper.
"I think it's a very promising set of biomarkers," says Blaine Roberts, a biochemist at Emory University, who wasn't involved in the work. He adds that one of the big open questions that remains is how exacting this test can be. While the authors of the September 7 study reported the detailed chemical profile of the unique Parkinson's signature, they did not include an assessment of its accuracy. According to Barran, based on not-yet-published data, their test appears to be able to determine whether an individual has Parkinson's with more than 90 percent accuracy. [...] The team is now working with local hospitals to determine whether this sebum-based test can also be conducted in clinical labs -- a key step toward determining whether it can be used as a diagnostic tool. Ultimately, Barran says, the hope is to use the test to help identify individuals who have been referred to their neurologists by their general practitioner for suspected Parkinson's so they can receive a faster diagnosis. The researchers are also working with a group at Harvard "to determine whether sebum-based biomarkers are detectable in people who have constipation, a reduced sense of smell or other early signs of Parkinson's but have not yet received a diagnosis," reports Kwon.
Meanwhile, Milne is working with scientists to sniff out people with Alzheimer's, cancer, and tuberculosis -- all of which she says have a unique smell.
[...] The researchers used mass spectrometry to identify types and quantities of molecules in a sample of sebum, an oily substance found on the skin's surface. They discovered changes to fatty molecules known as lipids in people with Parkinson's. In their latest study, published on September 7 in the American Chemical Society journal JACS Au, the researchers revealed the results of using a simple skin-swab-based test to detect the lipid signature that is indicative of Parkinson's. By comparing sebum samples from 79 people with Parkinson's and 71 people without the illness, the team zeroed in on a set of large lipids that could be detected in a matter of minutes using a special type of mass spectrometry in which substances are rapidly transferred from a swab to an analyzer using just a piece of paper.
"I think it's a very promising set of biomarkers," says Blaine Roberts, a biochemist at Emory University, who wasn't involved in the work. He adds that one of the big open questions that remains is how exacting this test can be. While the authors of the September 7 study reported the detailed chemical profile of the unique Parkinson's signature, they did not include an assessment of its accuracy. According to Barran, based on not-yet-published data, their test appears to be able to determine whether an individual has Parkinson's with more than 90 percent accuracy. [...] The team is now working with local hospitals to determine whether this sebum-based test can also be conducted in clinical labs -- a key step toward determining whether it can be used as a diagnostic tool. Ultimately, Barran says, the hope is to use the test to help identify individuals who have been referred to their neurologists by their general practitioner for suspected Parkinson's so they can receive a faster diagnosis. The researchers are also working with a group at Harvard "to determine whether sebum-based biomarkers are detectable in people who have constipation, a reduced sense of smell or other early signs of Parkinson's but have not yet received a diagnosis," reports Kwon.
Meanwhile, Milne is working with scientists to sniff out people with Alzheimer's, cancer, and tuberculosis -- all of which she says have a unique smell.
Works for heart disease, too (Score:2)
People with heart disease have a distinct smell.
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Re:Works for heart disease, too (Score:5, Funny)
Heartbroken :-(
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Hard to describe, it's an aroma I call "stiff artery" although that is almost certainly not accurate....kind of like old people, but more of a blood aroma.
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My hypothesis is that poor circulation prevents the extracellular matrix from flowing and getting cleaned out (or receiving new nutrients) the way it should, and the "gunk" (for lack of a better word) that starts building up develops a faint aroma. I've noticed it goes away after surgery.
Re: Works for heart disease, too (Score:2)
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How can you tell? How did you get samples of people with cholera to find out?
Re:Works for heart disease, too (Score:4, Interesting)
Yep, I was diagnosed with Parkinson's a little over three years ago and my wife said that she could detect a change to my smell several years before that.
So-far-so-good though... like a real geek I spent thousands of hours digesting all the research and studies I could find on the disease and am pleased to say that I'm doing way better than was predicted by applying diet, lifestyle, exercise and other changes to my daily routine. There has been very little progression to my symptoms since I devised my own best strategy for mitigation. The doctor wanted me to go straight onto levadopa but I thought I'd try other options first and based my changes on the results of crunching all the data I could find. I do take levadopa but only when I really need to.
I saw Michael J Fox in the media the other day and it was frightening to think what this disease can do to people. I'll keep working as hard as I can to slow down the progression in the hope I die of old age before I reach the advanced stages of the disease.
So far so good... my plan to live forever or die trying is working!
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Nice! From one geek to another, keep geeking out and live long and prosper!
Too bad there are no superspellers (Score:5, Funny)
In the scene of slashdot editors. I could smell those 1,4999 miles away.
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Mechanism (Score:4, Insightful)
I'm more excited for this to potentially open up new understanding about the pathophysiology and mechanisms underlying Parkinson's.
Could even get us closer to a cure.
The "SCENE" ? Editors busy as ever (Score:2)
FFS, "Editors". FIX IT.
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The "Editors" actually FIXED a stupid mistake !
Miracle of miracles !
Are they finally learning ?!
Dog noses (Score:4, Interesting)
This is the kind of thing that explains why dogs can so easily detect certain diseases by smell. If only dogs could communicate better.
Of course, we can always carry out detailed chemical analyses to get the same results. Far better would be the ability to create an artificial "dog nose". There have been efforts in this direction, but so far the results have been very...limited.
For anyone who hasn't watched a dog following a difficult trail, you really should. I've seen dogs follow trails through pouring rain - where you would think that the scents had been washed away. Follow trails that were hours or days old, in cities where hundreds of other people have been. Follow trails underneath snow (the dog periodically stuck its head in the snow, I suppose to double-check the scents). There's a whole world out there that we - as humans - know absolutely nothing about.
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To be fair, dogs try really their best to communicate with us. It think it's also us who have trouble communicating better ^^.
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I'd rather pay a cookie than 10 million dollars or whatever the diagnosis cost is in the US at this point :-D.
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It'd be along the lines [youtube.com] of "I have just met you and I love you. Squirrel!"
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Stephen King describes a dog's smelling like seeing rainbows of color going in all directions. The key was knowing which color to follow.
I vividly remember reading this some years ago and I was fascinated by the description.
Eye of the Dragon is the book, a short read and related to the Dark Tower world if that interests you.
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Far better would be the ability to create an artificial "dog nose". There have been efforts in this direction, but so far the results have been very...limited.
Did they make it cold, wet and inclined to sniff the back of a bare leg?
No AI? (Score:2)
I thought that some obscure AI system could do it better than a human.
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I thought that some obscure AI system could do it better than a human.
The problem is the sensor, not processing the data.
There is no good artificial nose.
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This is a problem that's been worked on for some time - and I think there's been a lot of progress, but it's still hard to beat the sensitivity of a dog's nose.
I worked on an "electronic nose" in the 90's for my first job as soon as I finished uni, extending work I had done for my final year project. It basically used an array of eight 10 mhz quartz crystals doped with various coatings that are usually used on the glass beads in a gas chromatography column, essentially acting as a microbalance that would ch
Re: No AI? (Score:3)
Not surprising (Score:2)
Not surprising given the leading theory on the cause is ulcer causing h.pylori and a reshaping of the gut bacteria.
NIH article quote about Parkinson's disease (Score:2)
The impact of Helicobacter pylori infection on gut microbiota-endocrine system axis; modulation of metabolic hormone levels and energy homeostasis [nih.gov] (Aug 11, 2020)
"Moreover, Pierantozzi et al. [87] demonstrated that H. pylori infection may increase the risk for Parkinson's disease (PD) by affecting L-DOPA levels. They also suggested that H. pylori eradication may ameliorate the clinical status of infected patients with PD and motor fluctuations by modifying
Hypersensitive nervous system? (Score:2)
Parkinson's smells like a martini (Score:4, Funny)
Why? (Score:2)
I'd be more interested to know WHY the lipids changed. Perhaps that could lead to a source for treatment.
Before labs doctors smelled you (Score:2)
100 years ago, doctors would smell your breath. If it was sweet, you might have diabetes. Rotting smells would indicate GI issues. Same with urine. The smells were subjective so lab tests are more reliable. These people seem to be repeating the process going from something that only a few people can perceive to an objective chemical test.
not mentioned (Score:5, Informative)
An important thing not mentioned is that Joy Milne was able to detect Parkinson far before any symptoms occurred, which give people chances to slow the progression of this illness.
super hell (Score:2)
Supersmeller, meet super smell (Score:2)
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Yeah, most smells are not really worth smelling.