Joy Milne from Scotland discovered she could “smell” Parkinson’s disease on her husband Les twelve years before his diagnosis. Parkinson’s causes slow movement, stiff muscles, and shaking, but currently has no definitive test—diagnosis relies on symptoms and exams.
Joy noticed a unique musky odor on Les in 1982, before his 32nd birthday. After his diagnosis, she recognized the same smell in others with Parkinson’s and helped researchers develop a new early detection method.
Scientists at the University of Manchester created a skin swab test analyzing sebum—the skin’s natural oil—which changes with Parkinson’s. This test is 95% accurate in labs and could soon be used in hospitals in the UK.
