Joy Milne has been dubbed a “Super Smeller” by scientists who have marvelled at her ability to identify people who have the disease before they show any symptoms.
“She noticed his smell changed and she said to him he should wash more and he tried to, but there was no change,” Barran told CTVNews.ca during a telephone interview from Manchester on Tuesday. The couple moved from the Manchester area back to their home in Perth, Scotland following the diagnosis. Milne’s husband started attending local support groups with other people who had the disease and it was there that she detected a familiar scent.
During the study, researchers used gauze to swab the upper backs of the participants in order to collect samples of sebum, a waxy substance secreted all over the body that keeps skin supple and oily. Milne the “Super Smeller” was then given laboratory-prepared samples containing the same compounds identified in the technique. She confirmed the same musky scent she associated with Parkinson’s disease was present in the samples.
“We now have a library, a small library, of volatile biomarkers that we can use to diagnose Parkinson’s from people’s sebum,” Barran said.
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