Joy Milne is not a well-known scientist, but a 72-year-old Scottish pensioner. However, she has been key to designing a test that could help us detect Parkinson’s disease much earlier in the future. Milne, yes, has a very special talent: a super-developed sense of smell.

It’s a three-minute test.
A group of British researchers has made progress in creating a rapid test for the detection of Parkinson’s. The results of the first trials were positive and published in the journal article form. Journal of the American Chemical Society.

The test is non-invasive, based on the analysis of the sebum we secrete from our skin. The procedure requires taking a sample of our skin’s secretions through cotton. This sample is then analyzed by mass spectrometry. Since the sample is taken, the process takes only three minutes.

Depanjan Sarkar, who presided over the article, explained the process in a press release: “This tallow is transferred onto a piece of paper (…), we add a drop of solvent, we apply a voltage, and this transfers the tallow compounds to the spectrometer of the masses. When we do this, it’s among Parkinson’s patients compared to control participants. We find more than 4,000 unique compounds, 500 of which are different.

First attempts.
The test was tested in an experiment of 150 people, an experimental group of 79 Parkinson’s patients, and a control group of 71 remaining. There are still many attempts to confirm these initial results, but it can be considered that the first step on this path has been taken.

The team and the University of Manchester formed a company to continue the development of these diagnostic tests.

Milne’s story.
But undoubtedly the most unique part of this entire journey was getting to it. The key lies in the hereditary hyperosmia of Joy Milne, a Scottish woman with a specially developed sense of smell.

Milne discovered after her husband’s diagnosis that she was able to identify nuances in the scent emitted by people with Parkinson’s disease. Milne had noticed a change in her husband’s scent in previous years.

From the nose to the lab.
Thanks to this strange situation, Milne and the rest of the team are responsible for developing this new diagnostic technique. But turning Milne’s talent into a lab test required additional work.

Perdita Barran, another of the researchers involved in the study, later explained to the BBC how they designed the experiments with a spectrometer to replicate what Milne’s nose could do on its own when detecting scent traces of people suffering from the disease.

These first steps were also published in the form of various articles in journals. Nature Communication Y ACS Center Science.

To the flower of the skin.
Sebum is an oily secretion of our skin that is odorless on its own. The sebaceous glands are linked to the endocrine system, and experts were already aware of the relationship between Parkinson’s disease and this biological function. Now we’re a little closer to taking advantage of it.

It’s a tough disease to fight.
Although we are far from being a cure for this disease, reaching a reliable diagnostic system is a step that cannot be underestimated. Today there is no definitive diagnostic test to identify this disease. This diagnosis is made based on psychological assessments, physical examinations, and screenings to rule out other conditions with similar symptoms.

It is equally difficult to treat and mainly focuses on fighting the symptoms it causes through physiotherapy and occupational therapy. Added to this are some medications that can help combat symptoms such as the characteristic tremors associated with this disease.

In recent years, the surgical option is gaining ground, although its development is still very limited. This option is based on deep brain stimulation (DBS), but it is not an option for all patients.

Image | University of Manchester