Parkinson’s Disease - 3-Minute Test Detects the Disease
Parkinson’s disease (PD) is one of the most
pervasive and widespread neurological disorders in the world. This
chronic disease affects a person’s movement and cognition, and it has no
known cure. Existing Parkinson’s medications and other treatments are
more effective at the early stages of the disease, so a reliable and
quick diagnostic tool remains a key priority in Parkinson’s research.
Scientists from the United Kingdom took an unusual route to diagnose
Parkinson’s. They developed a noninvasive skin test that only takes 3
minutes to process and can accurately identify the disease, even in its
early stages.
Why Diagnosing Parkinson’s Disease is Challenging
Around sixty thousand Americans are
diagnosed with PD annually, and many more fly under the radar. Younger
people are most likely to be misdiagnosed or underdiagnosed, even though
10-20% of all PD patients experience the first symptoms before 50 years
of age.
At present, diagnosing a person with Parkinson’s is a lengthy and
complicated process. A specialist examines brain images, tests symptoms
with neurological tests like a tapping or walking test, and looks at a
patient’s medical history before making a final diagnosis.
Since PD has many mutual symptoms with other neurological issues, it
often takes several visits to establish a Parkinson’s diagnosis. This,
of course, takes a lot of time from the patient and the doctor. And for a
disease that affects nearly a million Americans, this seems to be a
pretty inefficient diagnostic approach.
Researchers from the University of Manchester, in the UK, say that they
can change that once and for all. They developed a quick test that is
able to detect PD based on a person’s skin secretions. The results of
the study were published in the Journal of the American Chemical
Society.
Scientists Develop a 3-Minute Test for Parkinson’s
First observed in 1927, increased
production of sebum (an oily substance in the skin) is a known symptom
of Parkinson’s disease. But the research in question was inspired by the
first-person account of one Joy Milne. A retired nurse with hereditary
hyperosmia, or the heightened sense of smell, Milne observed that her
husband Les’ scent had suddenly changed.
More than a decade later, Les was diagnosed with PD. The couple started
going to a Parkinson’s support group, and right away, Milne noticed that
the people in the group had the same body smell as her husband Les.
Sadly, Les passed away in 2015, but Milne decided to collaborate with
medical researchers to use her observation as a way to improve the
diagnosis of the disease. Biofluid analyses supported her estimation, as
these have revealed that the composition of sebum indeed changes with
the onset of the disease. But the research didn’t stop there.
Researchers from the University of Manchester found out that a simple
sebum sample taken from the skin with a cotton swab can help them detect
unique biomarkers associated with Parkinson’s disease. This is the
first chemical test of PD, and the researchers are planning to
collaborate with hospitals in the Manchester area to implement the test
in the next two years.
How Does the Test Work?
The researchers report that they recruited
participants from 27 clinics in the UK. All in all, they collected 150
sebum samples taken by simply swiping the cotton swab over the skin in
the mid-back area. 79 samples were taken from PD patients, and 71 were
taken from individuals without the disease and used as controls.
The samples were transported to a lab, where the sebum was isolated onto
filter paper. The lab specialists then added a solvent and voltage to
prepare it to be used in a mass spectrometer, which is a device used to
identify unknown chemical compounds. Overall, the samples contained
4,200 unique features, 500 of which were uniquely found in individuals
with PD but not in the control group.
The unique chemical markers can now be used to test new samples in PD
diagnoses and to further confirm the test’s reliability. As neurologist
Prof. Monty Silverdale, the clinical lead author of the study, pointed
out, “This test has the potential to massively improve the diagnosis and
management of people with Parkinson’s disease.”
Parkinson’s Disease Test doctor
Like any study, the research presented here
has some limitations. We are yet to find out if this rapid and
affordable test is sensitive enough to diagnose all PD patients,
especially those in the early stages of the disease. Another open
question is if this test can be used in people who produce less sebum.
For example, conditions like seborrhea or seborrheic dermatitis lower
one’s sebum production, and it is commonly found in people with PD.
We eagerly await the UK researchers to address these questions in their
further research.