A dog is a man’s true best friend. All of us have heard that in our childhoods. That notion was reinforced by movies, TV shows about dogs being great allies in fighting crime, tracking down fugitives and saving lives. One of them went into space for us. And, if that wasn’t enough, a new study claims dogs can be trained to smell Parkinson's disease, which, at the moment, has no effective way for diagnosis. That is to say, you cannot tell if someone has Parkinson’s until the symptoms begin to appear. But how can dogs, our true best friends, help? Let us find out.
Dogs Can be Trained To Smell Parkinson’s
According to a study recently published in the Journal Of Parkinson’s Disease, some dog breeds could effectively be trained to smell Parkinson’s disease, which might help in the early detection of the disease, which as of now, only come to light when the symptoms begin appearing. The scientists claimed that those with Parkinson’s exhibit a smell of oily secretions which could be the key to detecting the disease in earlier stages by training breeds like Labrador and Golden Retriever. Initially five dogs were chosen for training, but only two made the cut and then were trained using swabs from those with Parkinson’s.
Also Read: 7 Common But Most Ignored Signs Of Parkinson's Disease You Should Know!
The dogs correctly identified 70% and 80% of the samples with Parkinson's disease and ignored 90% and 98% of the control samples. These findings reinforce previous work, indicating that dogs can be trained to reliably detect the scent of Parkinson's disease.
"I would say sensitivity levels of 70 and 80 percent are both significantly above chance, and I think that dogs could help us develop a short, low-risk, low-cost approach to identifying people with Parkinson's disease," lead researcher Dr. Nicola Rooney of the University of Bristol said.
All Because Of A Nosy Woman
Joy Milne, a Scottish Woman known for her extraordinary ‘smelling skills’ felt something was wrong with her husband twelve years before he eventually succumbed to the disease. She was particularly concerned about the change of her husband’s ‘scent’. The astounding ability led to research that suggested that those who suffer from Parkinson's excrete an oily substance, which has a subtle scent of their own.
Also Read: Could Your Sense of Smell Predict Early-Onset Neurological Diseases? Hear From An Expert
-1753684698957.jpg)
Early Signs Of Parkinson’s
According to the Parkinson’s foundation, following are the early signs of Parkinson’s disease.
- Tremor
- Small Handwriting
- Loss of Smell
- Trouble Sleeping
- Trouble Moving or Walking
- A Soft or Low Voice
- Masked Face
- Dizziness or Fainting
- Stooping or Hunching Over
Bottomline
According to the World Health Organisation, Parkinson disease is a brain condition that causes problems with movement, mental health, sleep, pain and other health issues. Parkinson gets worse over time. There is no cure, but therapies and medicines can reduce symptoms. At the moment, one crore people are suffering from the neurological disease.
Apart from there being no cure available, there are no tests that could diagnose Parkinson’s with certainty, which makes the discovery even more critical. If dogs could be trained to smell Parkinson’s, it could make the diagnosis of the disease easy, accessible and affordable.