Parkinson’s disease detected through a woman's sense of smell; inspired study for diagnostic test development

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In the UK, a 65-year-old woman was tested for her uncanny ability to detect Parkinson's. Joy Milne says it all started with her husband Les.

Approximately 20 years ago, at the age of 45, Les was diagnosed with Parkinson's. He died back in June, says BBC Scotland.

Six years before the diagnosis, Joy detected a change in the way her husband smelled.

"It wasn't all of a sudden. It was very subtle -- a musky smell," Joy told reporters.

The lady Milne only associated this specific odor to the disease after joining a charity event for Parkinson's UK. She noticed the same smell emanating from the people she met during the event, according to the BBC report.

It was only by complete chance that Milne mentioned this trait to a scientist. Researchers from the University of Edinburgh decided to test her abilities.

A total of 12 subjects were chosen for the experiment, six people with Parkinson's while the other six were used as control. The BBC report indicates they were instructed to wear a specific t-shirt for a day which was later bagged, coded and presented to Milne.

Joy got 11 out of 12 right but was adamant that one of the control subjects also had Parkinson's. Eight months later, the control subject informed the researchers that he had just been diagnosed with the disease.

Parkinson's disease affects the nervous system, causing the individual to shake uncontrollably or stiffness, says the Mayo Clinic. There is no cure for this disease although there are medications available that can help alleviate the symptoms.

"It's very early days in the research," said Dr. Arthur Roach to Independent reporters, "but if it's proved there is a unique odor associated with Parkinson's, particularly early on in the condition, it could have a huge impact. Not just on early diagnosis, but it would also make it a lot easier to identify people to test drugs that may have the potential to slow, or even stop Parkinson's, something no current drug can achieve."

Dr. Arthur Roach is the director of research at the charity group Parkinson's UK.

The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research said in a statement to CBS News that there is currently no definitive test for Parkinson's, making misdiagnosis common. Approximately one million individuals in the United States have the disease.

According to Yahoo, researchers aim to determine whether the disease alters the sebum secreted by the body. Samples taken from 200 subjects with or without Parkinson's will be analyzed using a machine and later scrutinized by Milne and a group of odor experts.

In a report by WebMD, Professor Perdita Barran, a scientist from the University of Manchester, hopes that the results of this study could help develop a test that could be used to detect the early stages of Parkinson's before physical signs emerge.