Joy, 72, can smell Parkinson’s disease

Joy Milne, 72, of Perth, Scotland, recently helped researchers develop a test that they hope will detect Parkinson’s disease.

Milne believes she has a rare condition that gives her a keen sense of smell.

The 72-year-old noticed that her husband smelled different when he was 33 years old. Twelve years later he was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease.

to me independent Milne explains that his body odor has changed to a more musky scent.

The husband died of illness in 2015 at the age of 65.

Helping researchers

Milne’s sense of smell has helped researchers and academics at the University of Manchester.

Recently, they have made significant progress by developing a very simple test that can identify people with the aforementioned disease – just by passing a Q-Tip along a person’s neck.

They state that they are still in an early research stage, but the goal is to use the samples to identify molecules linked to Parkinson’s disease.

The results were published in a peer-reviewed scientific journal Journal of the American Chemical Society.

to me pocket doctor Parkinson’s disease develops gradually and can often begin with a mild tremor in one hand. Others may notice stiffness and slower movements.

The disease is a progressive disease of the nervous system that significantly affects movement and motor skills, in which a type of neuron in the brain is destroyed and dies.

– It should be discovered earlier

If the newly developed test shows good results outside the lab, it should be available in hospitals and with general practitioners, The Independent writes.

Affected by Parkinson’s disease

Milnes himself says it is unacceptable that Parkinson’s disease is rarely detected before patients have neurological damage.

It must be detected early, such as cancer and diabetes. Early diagnosis means more effective treatment and a better lifestyle. It has been observed that exercise and diet changes can make a huge difference.

There is no cure

Milne and her husband approached the University of Edinburgh in 2012 to investigate their special sense of smell.

Professor Perdita Baran and Tilo Kunath believe that the pair’s new smell could be caused by a chemical change in the lipids of the skin – which is caused by the disease.

There is currently no cure or medication for Parkinson’s disease. Prof Baran says a confirmatory diagnosis will allow them to receive appropriate treatment and medication that will help relieve their symptoms.

Throughout the year-long research, Milne sniffed at the T-shirts worn by people with Parkinson’s disease – and people without the disease.

According to The Independent, Milne was able to choose the right people by smell. However, she also referred to a T-shirt used by someone who did not have Parkinson’s disease.

Eight months later, the person received the diagnosis.

It also researches tuberculosis and cancer

Milnes himself believes that his extreme sense of smell is both a curse and an advantage.

For example, I have to go to the grocery store very early or very late because of people’s perfume. I can’t even go to the chemicals section of the supermarket, she told The Independent, adding:

He got a horror diagnosis: – He wanted to escape from everything

“It’s a curse sometimes, but I also visited Tanzania and did research on tuberculosis and cancer research in the United States,” she explains.

The 72-year-old explains that she also smelled people with Parkinson’s disease while in the store or walking down the street. However, ethics experts told her not to tell them.

Which GP would accept a patient coming in and saying “a woman who smells like Parkinson’s says I have it”? Maybe in the future, says Milne, but not now.