A couple of years ago, a bizarre news story broke about a Scottish woman by the name of Joy Milne who could detect whether or not someone had Parkinson’s disease through smell. Milne first noticed the “musky” smell on her husband Les, who was years later diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease.
Now, after years of working with the University of Manchester, researchers have been able to identify the telltale smell, confirming Milne’s ability as legitimate. Apparently, the research revealed that a number of compounds were found in higher than usual concentrations on the skin of Parkinson’s patients, which causes the strange smell. The hope is that by identifying the smell, patients can be diagnosed much earlier!