Dogs’ keen sense of smell could help identify people with Parkinson’s

A trial is under way to determine whether dogs can be used detect Parkinson’s, possibly several years before symptoms start to show.

Research charity Medical Detection Dogs and Manchester University, funded by Parkinson’s UK and the Michael J Fox Foundation, are collaborating on a study that will use dogs to test skin swabs for Parkinson’s using their extraordinary sense of smell.

Parkinson’s affects one in every 500 people in the UK, around 127,000 in total. People with the progressive neurological condition can be left struggling to move and even speak.

There is currently no definitive test for Parkinson’s, which means people can be left in a state of limbo while they wait for a diagnosis. This can be distressing and can lead to a delay in people starting treatment to help with their Parkinson’s symptoms.

Parkinson’s symptoms typically only start to show once more than half of the relevant nerve cells in the brain have already been lost.

Scientists at Manchester University have reason to believe that dogs can be trained to identify Parkinson’s earlier. In the past, Medical Detection Dogs have published studies proving the ability of dogs to detect cancer. The researchers are hoping to use the dogs to hone in on the chemical indicator of Parkinson’s found on the skin of people living with the condition.

Chief executive of Medical Detection Dogs, Claire Guest commented:

We are delighted to be working with the University of Manchester on this ground-breaking study.

The full potential of dogs to detect human disease is just beginning to be understood. If all diseases have an odor, which we have reason to believe they do, we can use dogs to identify them.

Dogs have 300 million smell receptors in their noses compared to our mere five million. They are first-rate bio sensors and their ability to help us make important scientific advances should not be dismissed on account of their waggy tails and fluffy coats.

Parkinson’s is a pernicious condition and to be able to extend the quality of life for those effected would be a highly significant step forward.

Dr Beckie Port, Research Communications Manager at Parkinson’s UK, said:

Detecting Parkinson’s is incredibly difficult as there is currently no definitive diagnostic test.

Finding a chemical odor associated with Parkinson’s could have a huge impact. It promises to improve diagnosis and assist in the development of treatments that slow, or even stop, Parkinson’s.

Research that aims to find this odor is still in the early stages. But dogs, with their keen sense of smell, may play a vital role in this discovery and bring about a significant advance in Parkinson’s research.

Scientists at Manchester University began to believe Parkinson’s might have a discernible odor when a woman in Perth with a highly sensitive sense of smell claimed she detected a change in the odor of her husband six years before he was diagnosed with the condition. Joy Milne said her husband’s smell changed subtly years before any difficulty with movement started to emerge.

Manchester University has conducted tests with Mrs Milne, the so-called ‘super-sniffer,’ who was easily able to identify people living with Parkinson’s from people without the condition by smelling skin swabs taken from both groups.

Scientists were surprised to find out that one control sample identified by Mrs Milne as positive for Parkinson’s came from an individual who was clinically diagnosed with the condition at a later date.

Medical Detection Dogs will now train dogs to test several hundred samples in a two-year study. The dogs will be set simple ‘yes’ or ‘no’ indications, but they will also help the scientists to hone in on the specific chemical linked to Parkinson’s. Using mass spectrometers to split up samples into its component molecules, they will run each component part past the dogs to identify the key chemical indicator for Parkinson’s.

Source: https://www.medicaldetectiondogs.org.uk/