Super smellers can sniff out different diseases

Ever heard of hyperosmia? Also known as super smellers, individuals with hyperosmia possess a rare and exceptional heightened ability to discern scents. Joy Milne, a retired nurse, is one such individual who discovered this superpower as a child. In a fascinating exploration of the olfactory world, researchers tapped into the extraordinary sense of smell possessed by individuals like Joy Milne to redefine the art of diagnosing illnesses through scent signatures.

Milne’s journey began with a childhood steeped in scent education, guided by her grandmother, who was also a super smeller. During her time as a nurse, Milne honed her skills, developing a clinical scent library that eventually helped her identify a musky smell associated with Parkinson’s in her late husband. This discovery led to groundbreaking research, identifying biomarkers of Parkinson’s in sebum, the oily substance secreted by sebaceous glands to keep the skin moisturized.

Now, building on this earlier research, Milne teamed up with Drupad Trivedi, a biomedical researcher at the University of Manchester (UK), and sought to uncover scent signatures that manifest before the appearance of typical Parkinson’s symptoms.

During the prodromal stage of the condition before the first motor symptoms appear, patients display seemingly unrelated signs of Parkinson’s, such as changes in skin health and body odor, reduced smell, constipation, and REM sleep behavior disorder (RBD).

Milne in fact remembered RBD being one of her husband’s early symptoms: “I noticed this strange smell, but I didn’t think about it, because he progressed into Parkinson’s and the overwhelming smell was the Parkinson’s smell,” she explained.

Trivedi’s team set out to explore whether individuals diagnosed with RBD have a distinct volatile organic compound (VOC) signature compared to Parkinson’s patients and healthy controls.

Utilizing gas chromatography, mass spectrometry and machine learning, they analyzed VOCs in sebum swab samples from the upper back area of participants. Milne’s exceptionally sensitive nose served as a benchmark for scent patterns.

Surprisingly, the study discovered distinct VOC signatures in patients with RBD, distinct from both healthy individuals and those with diagnosed Parkinson’s.

The discovery that RBD has a different smell from individuals with Parkinson’s and healthy individuals marks a significant stride towards early Parkinson’s detection. However, as not every individual with RBD develops Parkinson’s, further studies are necessary to distinguish between RBD patients who develop Parkinson’s and those who do not.

Milne, now a fervent advocate for early detection, highlights the caregiver’s pivotal role in observing subtle changes of disease. Her unique ability to perceive the world through scent not only sheds light on the past but also paves the way for a future where early diagnosis transforms the landscape of neurodegenerative disorder treatment.