Parkinson’s disease stinks. Figuratively. But according to new research, it literally stinks too — to those who have a heightened sense of smell. Thanks to the help of one of these “super-smellers,” a team of scientists has identified subtle volatile compounds produced by Parkinson’s sufferers. These compounds could be used to make much easier, and earlier, diagnostics for the disease.
According to the CDC, Parkinson’s is the second-most common neurodegenerative disease after Alzheimer’s, and affects about 1% of the population at age 60, and 4% of the population by age 80. Current treatments can help alleviate some of the physical effects — like muscle tremors — though they don’t actually slow the progression of the disease. There is no cure.
Diagnosis is tricky, too: There’s no simple test. Once a patient has started to express some of the physical symptoms, it takes complicated brain imaging to confirm that certain brain cells — the neurons that produce dopamine — have been damaged or destroyed.
